LOS ANGELES -- A magnitude-5.1 aftershock of a 1999 earthquake struck the Mojave Desert Friday night, and a second, smaller quake struck Saturday about 140 miles away from the first one.
The first quake hit at 8:18 p.m. Friday, with an epicenter 117 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was placed 35 miles east of Barstow and near Ludlow, a gas station exit on Interstate 40, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was followed at 8:07 a.m. by a magnitude 3.0 quake epicentered near Olancha, a small settlement halfway between Mojave and Bishop, and about 140 miles north of Los Angeles.
It was felt in Los Angeles County, including West Los Angeles and Studio City. Calls also came in from Las Vegas, San Diego and western Arizona.
The big quake was an aftershock of the magnitude-7.1 Hector Mine earthquake that struck on Oct. 16, 1999, according to Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The U.S. Geological Survey's automated computers initially reported the aftershock's magnitude at 5.5, but downgraded it to 5.1 after scientists reviewed the data.
