On July 21, 1952, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Kern County was strongly felt in the Santa Clarita Valley, shaking residents awake in the early morning hours.
Centered near the town of Wheeler Ridge, it was the most powerful quake to hit Southern California since the Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857, rupturing along the little-known White Wolf fault.
The White Wolf fault is a reverse fault (with some left-lateral component of slip) north of the intersection of the Garlock and San Andreas faults.
Though the epicenter lay more than 60 miles away, the shaking in the SCV left a lasting impression…