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Fifty years ago this Sunday, Kern County was shaken to its roots by the third largest earthquake in recorded California history.

The town of Tehachapi was heavily damaged, and 12 people were killed. A month later, an aftershock heavily damaged Bakersfield, killing two.

Today, some Kern County residents vividly remember the earthquake, but several more would find themselves unprepared in the event of another big quake.

Kern home to many faults

By MELISSA DABRUSHMAN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: mdabrushman@bakersfield.com

Monday July 22, 2002, 07:00:00 PM

Photo courtesy of Virginia Parks Photo shows damage from the 1952 earthquake near Copus Road in Maricopa Flats, Bakersfield.

The myriad earthquake faults surrounding Kern County resemble a broken pane of glass, cracks extending in every direction.

The county has 15 or 20 active faults with either a known history of quakes or that show evidence of geologically recent (within the last few thousand years) movement.

Most are capable of inflicting damage, and two in particular - the Garlock and San Andreas faults - are able to produce massive temblors.

The San Andreas fault is more than 745 miles long and bends to the west where it meets the Garlock fault, in the southern end of Kern County. It is here that two large blocks of the Earth's crust, called the Pacific and North American plates, actually push into each other and produce earthquakes.

Of the active faults around Kern County, five are considered "significant seismic sources," according to Bill Bryant, a senior geologist with the California Geological Survey.

"Other faults around Kern's area may one day produce a quake in the moderate range, a 5.5 to 6 quake on the Richter scale. But these (five) faults - the White Wolf, Wheeler Ridge, Pleito thrust, Garlock and San Andreas - are the major ones, capable of above a 6.0 quake," Bryant said.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey regularly conduct field studies on the fault lines to determine how fast they're moving.

Robert Lewy, a geologist and geology instructor at Bakersfield College and East High School, said the slow, creeping movements of area faults are taking a toll on the San Joaquin valley.

"The valley is getting shorter and narrower over millions of years," he said.

The San Andreas fault runs roughly north and south along the western edge of Kern County and interacts with numerous other faults along its course.

"If the San Andreas breaks, its strength could cause most faults surrounding it to quake," said John Vidale, a UCLA geophysics professor.

But here in Kern County, the four lesser known faults also can cause widespread destruction - just as the White Wolf fault did in 1952:

The Garlock fault

According to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, the Garlock is one among the most obvious geologic features in Southern California. It is 155 miles long and runs along the southeastern side of the Tehachapi Mountains, from Fort Tejon in the west to the small, abandoned mining town of Garlock about 20 miles south of Ridgecrest.

The fault is thought to be capable of producing a magnitude 7.6 quake. Its last major rupture was believed to be 1050 A.D., in the Tehachapi area.

Scientists believe the 1952 Tehachapi quake opened cracks along the fault.

"The Garlock fault will more than likely rupture again in the future, but we have no way of knowing when," Lewy said.

The White Wolf fault

Named for a ranch which lies just south of Highway 58, this fault runs along the base of Bear Mountain and created the steep separation between the Tehachapi and San Joaquin valleys. It is approximately 37 miles long and lies 15 miles south of Bakersfield, from Interstate 5 and Highway 99 northeast to Caliente.

It was this relatively minor fault which added three feet to Bear Mountain and leveled downtown Tehachapi 50 years ago this week, and produced the aftershock which heavily damaged much of downtown Bakersfield a month later.

"It is surprising that the White Wolf fault erupted in the 1952 quake because it is an older fault that was intercepted by a deep thrust fault, (which) rolled it over into a reverse position," Lewy said.

The fault is capable of producing a magnitude 7.6 quake.

The Wheeler Ridge fault

The 18-mile-long Wheeler Ridge fault lies 15 miles south of Bakersfield. Many scientists believe it intersects with the White Wolf fault. This south-dipping fault is associated with a complex series of folds and slopes west of Wheeler Ridge, according to SCEDC.

Its most recent rupture is estimated to have occurred between 100 and 10,000 years ago. It is capable of producing a magnitude 6.0 to 7.1 quake.

The Pleito Thrust fault

The Pleito Thrust fault is 28 miles long and runs about 25 miles south of Bakersfield, through Wheeler Ridge and the Grapevine. According to scientists, it is believed to connect with the nearby Wheeler Ridge fault. Future motion along this fault could make the Interstate 5 freeway impassable at the Grapevine.

Scientists have estimated its most recent rupture was between 350 and 1,465 years ago. It has a probable magnitude of producing a 6.3 to 7.3 quake.

According to Lewy, there are numerous smaller faults lurking around Kern. The 3-mile-long Buena Vista fault, outside Taft, put a bump in the road on Highway 119 many years ago.

Another minor fault, the Kern Front, provided headaches to road crews in the Glennville area.

And although earthquakes are commonly referred to as "Mother Nature's fury" along with hurricanes and tornadoes, geologists say they aren't all that bad.

"Quakes can get a bad rap. They provide us with valuable resources, water, minerals, and trapping mechanisms for oil and gas," Lewy said. "If it wasn't for quakes, we wouldn't have the beautiful mountain ranges or valleys we have today."