This terrain is separated by the San Andreas Fault, which stretches for 1,287 kilometers (800 miles) and divides California in two. It has been accountable for several of the most disastrous earthquakes in the history of the United States. It runs north to south across the state and is near numerous major cities. It is possible that certain areas in the state’s central region have not yet been subjected to the full force of the fault, at least not in recent memory. At least, that’s what everyone assumed.
In a recent investigation, researchers discovered evidence that the slow and quiet stretch of the famed fault line may have in fact been the site of some major earthquakes at some point in the past. While the geologists who conducted the study suggest that we shouldn’t be frightened, the results should serve as a reminder to pay more regard to seismic events in central California in the long term, according to the researchers.
The results
A single breach in the crust looks on the surface to be three different borders in which the Pacific & North American tectonic plates collide, however they are really three independent limits. With titanic pressures, the northern and southernmost parts push together, released in bursts only when minor pieces of the structure succumbed to the strain.
Los Angeles County, in the extreme south, has also had its full share of loss and devastation when surrounding parts of fault suddenly yield, as has the whole state of California. Located in the middle of these two limits, there is a far calmer border, one where the plates caress at a tranquil rate of 26 millimeters (approximately 1 inch) every year, which is referred to as ‘aseismic creep.’
Because there is nothing to drive the plates to rest and generate tension in this area, the likelihood of a big earthquake happening is greatly reduced. In reality, there has never been a reported instance of an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 6 in recorded history. Upon further investigation, there is no evidence of a similar quake having reached the surface in the previous 2,000 years.
To suggest that there is nothing to be worried about is a misinterpretation. This may have catastrophic consequences if it occurs near critical infrastructure. For example, the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. In 1989, a tremor with a magnitude of 6.9 in Santa Cruz, California, resulted in more than 60 fatalities.
