LAKE PILLSBURY – Small earthquakes have continued to shake the Lake Pillsbury area in the wake of a 4.8 quake that hit the area early Wednesday morning.

The US Geological Survey reported that eight more small earthquakes occurred throughout the day Thursday, the largest a 2.2 magnitude.

The microquakes were centered 8 to 9 nine miles west northwest of Lake Pillsbury, the location of the 4.8 quake, the US Geological Survey reported.

Late Wednesday, a 3.3 and a 2.9 hit Pillsbury along the same epicenter, according to US Geological Survey records.

In total, there have been 49 quakes at the Pillsbury area since Wednesday.

Seismologist David Oppenheimer of the US Geological Survey said the fault along which the large quakes are occurring does not have a name and not much is known about it.

Until faults break to the surface, it's hard to study them or know their exact locations and sizes, Oppenheimer said. A fault's length helps determine the size of its earthquakes, he added.

He said this week it's unlikely the unnamed fault would produce the kinds of quakes found along larger faults, like the San Andreas and Calaveras.

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