SeeCalifornia.com

Winters, California (Red B on Map)  just finished celebrating Earthquake Festival the night before when suddenly residents woke to the feeling a REAL earthquake this past weekend! The left picture shows Winters, which annually celebrates the rise of the city from a devastating local earthquake in 1892.  The epicenter of the Napa quake on August 24, 2014 around 3:20 a.m. was estimated to be near American Canyon (Green A on Map), some 30 miles southwest of Winters. According to the USGS Earthquake Hazards program, the earthquake lies within a 44-mile-wide set of major faults of the San Andreas Fault system that forms the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. The earthquake is located at the eastern shore of San Pablo Bay between two major active fault systems: the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault system on the west and the Concord-Green Valley Fault system on the east. Based on evidence from an 1898 Mare Island earthquake about 12 miles to the northwest, even larger earthquakes can be expected in the future.

When you experience an earthquake, which most Californians do from time to time, head directly for http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ or type in a search for “earthquake did you feel it”. Instantly you’ll be able to file a report about how it felt and you’ll see how many other people in your area felt it, too. The government website tabulates the reports automatically and generally comes up with an epicenter and estimated magnitude within a minute or two. It’s a useful tool to help us get through the earthquake jitters.