A new look at slip rate data and geologic evidence for ancient earthquakes on the central Garlock fault suggest that seismic activity along the fault may be controlled in part by "super-cycle" changes in strain that occur on thousand-year timescales. The findings are part of an increasing body of evidence that suggests there may be large-scale coordination of earthquakes in time and space, which can cause large earthquakes to cluster in time along a single fault system, for instance. The Garlock fault runs along the northern border of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Although the immediate region around the fault is not heavily populated, earthquakes along the fault could impact most of southern California.
http://phys.org/news/2015-04-earthquake-super-cycle-patterns-garlock-fault.html