The World 's Largest Type Of Earthquake

The three faults being considered are thought to have influenced the character of some 120,000 square miles. The Big Pine, Garlock, and San Andreas faults are all mutually active, deep, long, and steep and noted as being conjugate shears. In concert, the faults have defined a primary strain pattern of relative east-west extension and north-south shortening of the area of 120,000 square miles. The large region is noted for its deformity, with the source of this being a northeast-southwest counterclockwise compressive couple. The compressive couple was potentially supported through drag as a result of the deep-seated movement of rock material from the Pacific region (Hill & Dibblee, 1953). The interaction of the faults in the San Andreas region since the Jurassic period have served to shape and contour the present geology of the land, while a study of the paleontology of the region likewise requires such knowledge to effectively determine conditions at any given point in time.

California’s unique geography as a state makes it a very appealing place to call home. From the odd east to west transverse San Gabriel mountain ranges of the Los Angeles Basin, to the bumpy coastal ranges of the Bay Area, any person can find a compatible topographic terrain to their liking. California may seem to be the perfect place to live with its ideal climate and extensive geographic features. However, due to California’s location over the shifting continental plates, coupled with its enormous and also multiple faults, at any time this great state can fall victim to a seismic disaster. After examining evidence from both Rong-Gong Lin’s II Los Angeles Times article of April 18, 2016 and the NOVA videos Killer Quake ( 2006), Earthquake (2007), as well as Geologic Journey II – Episode 3 (The Pacific Rim: Americas) – Part 3 (San Francisco) and The Great San Francisco Earthquake (American Experience ~ 2005), one can take a comparative account of the three major earthquakes of California’s past. Although each earthquake was very devastating on is own; the Great Quake 0f 1906, the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, and the NorthRidge quake of 1994 each amounted to an extensive forfeiture of property and life. Each of these earthquakes created much suffering and loss. It is imperative for each citizen of this great state to understand the damage that a California quake can actually do and be prepared; for the threat of one always looms.

Kathryn Schulz has provided insight of the dangers of the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the lack of our countries preparedness. Seismologist has detected and proven probability of an enormous earthquake and/or tsunami that is over due to take place along the western coast line and yet the lack of preparedness is evident. Thousands of lives will be lost due to unpreparedness.

According to the research report, it will cause thousands of people die, towns submerged, buildings and bridges damaged once a huge earthquake and tsunamis happened on the Pacific Northwest area near American coast. And losses will be estimated at over 5 billion dollar US dollars. This shocking article was composed by seismic safety advisory committee in Oregon. According to materials, a super-strong earthquake once happened in A.D. 1700 Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) on the Pacific Northwest coast. There are some experts forecast that another super-huge earthquake will occur in the future. The report has shown that once the earthquake occurs, the regions from North California to British Columbia Coastal region will suffer devastation, cause heavy casualties. Water and electricity shortage issues definitely follow this heavy disaster, meanwhile, communication and heating system and gas supply will definitely broken off in the light of this earthquake. The CSZ is a 1,000 km long dipping fault that stretches from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino in northern California. It separates the Juan de Fuca (Juan

• 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.

Over more than 50 decades there has been multiple earthquakes that have been caused by the activity that takes place beneath and above the surface of the earth. For every earthquake there are various effects and consequences, these are generally not preventable but teachable moments. As we study and explore landforms we learn and better understand how today 's structures came about, what took place decades ago and where do we go from here. Thanks to the technology and inquiring minds we are able to study past events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In comparing these two events we can get an overview of what happened and better prepare ourselves for something like that in the future.

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).

In recorded history, there have been 151 earthquakes in Nevada that were a magnitude of 3.5 or higher. As previously mentioned, the mountain ranges of Nevada are typically bound on one side or the other by a fault. There are quaternary faults that range in ages from less than 150 years to around 1.8 million years in existence. The property damage in Nevada from earthquakes was .2 million dollars between 1196 and 2014 based on information from department of energy for the state. As we studied in our textbook, earthquakes can by a number of things, such as shifting faults, or volcanic

The right figure gives a more specific visualization of the Juan de Fuca plate currently been forced to slip under the North American plate in an area known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Along the boundary of these two plates, a section has become locked yet they are still moving toward each other. As a result, stress has accumulated for centuries and when that stress relieved, it will cause the largest and most powerful earthquake called a megathrust earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or higher. The last earthquake which was caused by the relieved of this stress with similar magnitude happened in 1700. The scientists were able to determine this date through sediment samples that indicated the coast’s seismic past, taken from the sea floor off the coast of Vancouver Island. Therefore, scientist were able to outline that earthquakes occur every 500 to 1000 years.The risk for a possible megathrust earthquake to happen is increasing and it is coming faster than predicted because the stress hasn’t been released recently and the Juan de Fuca and the North American Plates are constantly moving. Right now, Vancouver Island has been tilted higher and squeezed by a few centimetres eastward every year. In the next 50 years, when the strain released, an earthquake called the “Big One” will rip down the west coast from British Columbia to northern California,

As in the rest of Alaska, earthquakes are no stranger to the Island of Kodiak. According to the State of Alaska's Department of Natural Resources website dnr.alaska.gov, “Kodiak Island’s geologic activity is characterized by areas of intense activity along the boundaries where tectonic plates collide, and are separated or slide past each other.” The site continues to say that “Earthquakes and volcanoes occur frequently at these plate junctures. In Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak are located near a subduction plate boundary approximately 93 miles (150 km) to the southeast.” The site reveals that “the Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate at approximately 2.5 inches or 6 cm per year.” cbsnews.com reported that in March of 1964 a tsunami destroyed the waterfront in Kodiak. It was classified as the largest earthquake in 50 years, registering 9.2 at 5:30 pm. There were reported 15 people who were killed and the tsunami which it created killed another 124 from Alaska to California. It also stated that the “soil beneath some parts of Anchorage into jelly and collapsing buildings that were

The fault line is less commonly known as the San Andreas which runs through California – Canada, where it is presumed that ‘The Big One” can be unleashed. The Cascadia Subduction zone is also runs from 700 miles from the pacific Northwest towards Canada. It can cause a lot of damage in the Pacific Northwest—Washington, Oregon and California.

This newly found fault, named the Salton Trough Fault, is next to the San Andreas Fault and could be causing it to become more and more unstable as time goes by. The proximity and parallelism of these two faults, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2016), “could impact current seismic hazard models in the earthquake-prone region that includes the greater Los Angeles area” (para. 1). Scientists

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a boundary where two tectonic plates meet, and the tension between them has caused a major uproar within the past two decades amongst seismologists. If Cascadia’s potential mega-quake were to hit, it could very well destroy the shoreline cities of Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Scientists have taken action by enabling the Cascadia Initiative, and placing earthquake detectors nearby. This progress will allow researchers to receive more data in order to learn more about the Zone, and give people faster updates on the current state of the zone. Being prepared in such a serious situation is very important for our nation’s future, and the future of that area’s people.

After viewing the video “Deadliest Earthquakes” there are many things clear to me about the damage that earthquakes can do and the tools used to study earthquakes. Earthquakes can either be devastating or mild in destruction and carnage. There are various methods for predicting earthquakes. Ps markers, probing sensors into faults, and core samples of the sea floor are methods for predicting earthquakes. As plates move, they stick with other plates causing stress to build up on the fault line, once the fault skips it causes an earthquakes, the biggest of which are equal to 12,000 nuclear bombs, Megathrusts are not to be taken lightly, they can cause tsunamis 300 feet tall and are devastating on their own. The super earthquake can exceed a magnitude

Scientist are struggling to come up with a widely accepted model that will explain the role of non-vertical strike-slip fault segments, crustal movement and deformation within Pacific –North American plate boundary. Multiple methods of analysis are being used; some of which are described below.