Three 5+ Magnitude Earthquakes Hit Oregon Coast In 12 Hours
SALEM, Ore. (CBS SF) -- A third large earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon Monday but officials say no tsunami was triggered.
The 5.9 earthquake struck at 1:11 p.m. PST. Overnight, a quake measuring a magnitude 5.8 struck at about midnight, followed by three quakes early Monday. They were of magnitude 4.3, 5 and 4.4.
Paul Caruso, with the U.S. Geological Survey, says the quakes hit a fault that's west of the Oregon and Washington coast. They were about 330 miles west of Salem.
The quakes were all about 6 miles deep, which is relatively shallow.
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Deeper quakes are less noticeable while a shallow quake--in the 0 to 40 mile depth range--can feel much stronger than their actual reported magnitude. Quakes just below the earth's surface, in the 0 to 10 miles range, can cause even more damage at lower magnitudes.
Caruso says the fault that produced them generates frequent earthquakes, but it isn't the type of fault that produces the most violent quakes.
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Strong earthquakes with an epicenter off the coast can trigger tsunamis, depending on the size and type of the fault movement. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center tracks earthquake data for the West Coast.
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