Hawthorne area rattled by four quakes in two hours

HAWTHORNE, Nev. -- Four earthquakes struck in about two hours time in a remote area of western Nevada.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a 3.8 magnitude temblor struck around 9:26 a.m. Saturday about 14 miles east of the Mineral County city of Hawthorne and 167 miles east of Sacramento, Calif. It was followed three minutes later by a 4.3 magnitude quake about eight miles southeast of Hawthorne.

Then a 3.9 quake hit in roughly the same area at 11:21 a.m. A fourth earthquake, this one with a magnitude 3.2, was recorded at 11:27 a.m.

USGS seismologist Paul Caruso could not say why the quakes hit the same area in a short period of time, but said the area was commonly rattled by relatively minor earthquakes.

A dispatcher with the Mineral County Sheriff's Department in Hawthorne said she felt shaking from three of the four quakes, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.