12 small earthquakes hit Ridgecrest area overnight

A dozen small earthquakes, each more than 3 in magnitude, rattled the Ridgecrest area overnight Sunday into Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
They were among the 3,000 or aftershocks that have shaken a region few outsiders were aware of until a 7.1 quake hit on Friday and swayed much of Southern California.
Earthquake experts, however, know the area well: It has a history of absorbing shakers, albeit not major ones.
The first series of overnight quakes struck between 9 and 36