/ Source: The Associated Press
A major earthquake struck western China early Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The 7.2-magnitude quake hit at 6:33 a.m., about 140 miles southeast of Hotan in Xinjiang province, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the area, which is sparsely populated.
Dale Grant, a USGS geophysicist, described the area as "very seismically active" but said Friday's temblor was the biggest there on record.
Xinjiang is a predominantly Muslim region with a culture that is distinctly different from that of China's ethnic Han majority.
