A series of earthquakes -- the largest of magnitude 5.1 -- have rattled a rural area of central California.
The largest struck about 29 kilometers southeast of the town of Lone Pine at 3:01 am. It was followed within the next three hours by about a half dozen smaller quakes between magnitude- 3.0 and magnitude- 3.5 in the same area.
Inyo County sheriff's dispatcher Faith Felton says she felt a slight tremor during the strongest quake. No damages or injuries have been reported.
US Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin says a couple of quakes with magnitudes of about 5.4 have previously occurred in the area in recent years.
The quakes were centered in a rural area near Sequoia National Park and about 290 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles.