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Swarm of Minor Quakes Shakes Area

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

A swarm of about 90 earthquakes has shaken this volcanic area of the Eastern Sierra in the last three days, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Monday.

The strongest of the comparatively weak temblors occurred at 3:39 a.m. Monday, measured magnitude 3.2 and was centered 11 miles southeast of Mammoth Lakes, south of the Long Valley caldera.

Quite a few of the quakes, however, occurred within the caldera--a huge volcanic crater--six miles southeast of Mammoth Lakes. The caldera was created during an eruption 760,000 years ago and has been the locale of scientific monitoring for a possible renewal of volcanic activity.

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