LONE PINE, Calif. — A magnitude of 5.8 earthquake struck a remote area of central California on Wednesday, apparently triggering a rock slide in the Sierra Nevada. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 10:40 a.m. and was centered in the Owens Valley region below the eastern flank of the Sierra. Numerous aftershocks followed.
The quake was felt widely in California, including some 240 miles away in Sacramento.
Closest to the epicenter, most of rural Inyo County felt the quake, especially people in the little community of Lone Pine, the Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page.
In the mountains west of Lone Pine, a rock slide believed caused by the quake left a jumble of boulders and snapped trees near the main parking lot at the Whitney Portal campground, the Sheriff's Office said.
The campground serves the trailhead for Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.
No injuries were reported there but the area was closed and campgrounds were being evacuated, the Sheriff's Office said.
It was not known if the main Mount Whitney trail was affected.
The Horseshoe Meadows Road was also closed due to debris and rocks.
Veteran seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter that the quake occurred in the same location as a magnitude-4.6 quake Monday night.
"That is now considered a foreshock," Jones wrote.
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