A set of several small earthquakes rattled Imperial County this morning, and are continuing to rumble gently beneath the surface, centered within about 5 miles of the Brawley area. Of the series, the largest was a 4.4 magnitude that hit at 11:16 a.m., about a quarter hour after a pair of jolts, one 3.7 and one a minute later at 3.5, as tracked by the USGS. Since then, the quakes have generally come in at 1- and 2- level magnitudes. "The quakes were felt in the region, but there were no reports of damage or injuries," notes LA Now. more ›

The largest mass of sand dunes in California just became more accessible with the opening of a new road today. The Bureau of Land Management opened the newly constructed Wash Road in the Imperial Sand Dunes near the southeastern corner of the state. The 15 MPH corridor, which leads to camp sites, parallels a road on a Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way no longer accessible to the public. more ›