Salton Sea rattled by swarm of earthquakes, including 4.6 magnitude temblor

SALTON SEA (KABC) -- A swarm of earthquakes rattled the Salton Sea, a relatively remote body of water near the Coachella Valley, the strongest of which was a magnitude 4.6 earthquake.

The swarm of mostly minor quakes began shortly after 1:30 a.m. Monday morning, ranging in strength from 2.6 to the largest one, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The most powerful temblor was measured at a magnitude 4.6, which struck at a depth of about six miles, located some 63 miles northwest of Palm Springs just before 2 a.m.

Such a cluster of relatively small quakes in that area isn't the first such occurrence, according to seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones, who said it's the fourth such swarm since 2001.

The 4.6 quake was reportedly felt in the surrounding populated cities, including Thermal and Indio, but no there were no reports of injuries or damage.