Small Earthquake Rattles Central Coast

A small, exceedingly shallow earthquake rattled part of California's Central Coast on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The magnitude-3 quake struck at 8:45 a.m. at a depth of zero miles, its epicenter 10 miles northwest of Goleta and 8 miles southeast of Santa Ynez, according to a computer-generated report from the USGS.

That quake followed an earlier magnetude-1.5 quake on the San Andreas fault in Central California. The quake struck at 8:30 a.m. at a depth of about 2.6 miles west southwest of Coalinga.

There has been a swarm of earthquakes in the Central California region of late, especially on the San Andreas fault, but scientists say they're not indicative of the "big one."

The Oct. 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake is the most recent major earthquake associated with the San Andreas Fault. The 7.9-magnitude 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the largest earthquake ever recorded on the fault, according to the USGS.

— City News Service contributed to this report. Image courtesy of the USGS