Causes Of Disasters

• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.

The tectonic setting for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was in the outermost shell of earth consisting of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The Pacific Plate (on the west) slides horizontally northwestward relative to the North American Plate (on the east), causing earthquakes along the San Andreas and associated faults. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

It’s been called the sleeping giant. Myths of California breaking off and floating away into the Pacific Ocean. This myth is one of the most popular to this day. Why? Because of a 800 mile long fault that makes it’s way through California called the San Andreas Fault. Beginning when the East Pacific Rise submerged under the North American Plate about 40 miles away from what is now Los Angeles. Spreading northwest and southeast, The San Andreas Fault or SAF gradually grew, and is still growing. The grinding plates, along with earthquakes, to this day are gradually reshaping California, as we know it. In this paper, we will look at the history of The SAF and learn what it is and what it could be capable of doing.

water fractures within the earth. Causing certain areas of the land to have an earthquake effect

The damages were catastrophic as houses lay in ruin and debris littered the roads. There were mudslides and fallen rocks that paved the roads and made them impassible for vehicles to get through. Ultimately by the roads being clogged up the response time by rescue workers and essential personal were hampered. This also made it exceptionally difficult for supplies to be rushed to the locations for the earthquake survivors. As some were digging and excavating for survivors they were being halted by aftershocks and falling debris from above. Approximately 8000 people were killed either by their houses caving in or by the other disasters this earthquake triggered. It was a real life tragedy that

Large magnitude earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and can produce hazards such as movement along faults, landslides, and tsunamis. In North America, the western coast is an active margin, meaning that it is home to earthquakes and

began to flow along weak layers that define the folds and faults and carved the resistant

Cedar Breaks started to form when the plates of the earth started to change. A plate called the Pacific plate plunged under the lighter continent. Ginormous sections of the earth’s crust headed eastward along a low angle called “thrust faults”. This time of faulting known as the sevier orogeny, formed a chain of mountains to the west of what is now Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Next, geo-process is earthquakes. Earthquakes are caused when two transform plates are pushing past each other until one of the plates slip causing sudden movement under the surface. The sudden movement causes shaking on the earth above the fault. The shaking creates buildings to fall and for cracks to appear on the surface.  “The quake swallowed roads, twisted railway lines and left towns and cities

An earthquake happens which causes cracks in the ground. The cracks open wide from the pressure of the buildings. Then the buildings fall through; with people left with no home, work, etc.

On April 18, 1906, in San Francisco, California there was an earthquake that was a major geological disaster that affected people in many ways. According to www.History.com, San Francisco had a population of around 400,000, and 3,000 people. The earthquake destroyed over 28,000 buildings and around 250,000 people became homeless. The damage costs were $500 in 1906. The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated to be a 7.8, but only lasted for 1 minute. The earthquake started many fires that burned for days and destroyed around 500 city blocks. The earthquake could be felt from Los Angeles to southern Oregon, and in central Nevada. This earthquake was caused by the transform plate boundary from the pacific and North American plates. The 2 plates rubbed against each other creating the earthquake. (decodedscience.org).

City. Its winds were over 80 mph and the full moon made high tides 20% higher than normal.

This means that the fault is created by angular fragments of rock caused by movement along the fault.

Long ago there was tribe called the Zuni, they believed one of their gods, Shinji, only slept once a month. They received that thought from the night. Once, sometimes twice a month it would get pitch black out after the sun went down. The bright disk in the sky at night was called the moon, and they believed when the moon was full, Shinji was at full power and took the form of a wolf and he roamed the earth until sun up. Afterward his power slowly “waned”, he then didn’t have the power to take his normal form, a wolf.

According to a study conducted Christian D. Klose of Columbia University 's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, the quake was triggered by changes in tectonic forces caused by 200 years of underground coal mining. But even more significant was groundwater pumping needed to keep the mines from flooding. For each ton of coal produced, 4.3 times more water was extracted. The mass removal of coal and water caused an “unload” of the entire continental crust. In the case of mining, an unload is the reduction of weight in a certain area, e.g., black coal and water in a colliery. If it has enough time, the tectonic plate reacts to this unload by forming a small deformation. If it does not have enough time because the rate of mass removal is too high, a fault zone can be reactivated