Sac State epicenter of quake information

An earthquake registering 4.7 on the Richter scale hit about 10 miles west of Mill Valley Tuesday, closely following a 7.8 magnitude quake in southeast Turkey one day earlier.

"Interest for this earthquake has peaked because it happened so close to the Turkish quake," said Dale Cox, regional spokesman for the USGS.

The combined effect has sent media agencies into a frenzy contacting the U.S. Geological Survey, which is housed in Placer Hall at CSUS.

Placer Hall, one of the newest buildings on campus, is also the most earthquake-ready building at CSUS, Cox said.

"Placer Hall is fitted with shock absorbers, and is built to withstand relatively large earthquakes," said Cox.

Cox is frequently called upon to comment on geological events.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook," he said, adding that he's taken calls from as far away as Argentina.

"People have been asking me if the two quakes are related in any way, or if these two quakes are a sign of something bigger, and the answer is, `not really,’" said Cox.

Earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault are very common and the possibility of a relationship to the Turkish earthquake is very unlikely, he added.

The Bolinas quake sent tremors as far away as Sacramento and Petaluma. While that quake caused only minor damage, the one in Turkey has killed thousands of people.

"I think what happened in Turkey is tragic," said Steve Rounds, CSUS geology technician.

The USGS rated the earthquake that hit Turkey as 30,000 times more energy than the Bolinas earthquake.

Recently the USGS said that a major earthquake would probably occur in the Turkish region within 30 years.

"We were not offering a prediction, just that the possibility did and does exist," said Cox.

The USGS will use information from the Turkish quake to improve building codes and raise standards.