San Andreas Fault-Geol-101
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San Andreas Fault-Geol-101

The San Andreas Fault is on of the most active and interesting in the world. Major earthquakes have been recorded there as early as 1812 . It has been a major concern for inhabitants. This is because of the huge amount of damages caused emotionally, finacially, and structurally. The Fault is located in Western California and streches from the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean to Point Arena, which is just north of San Francisco.(Earth370) Brief History: The San Andreas Fault has been dated at 29 million years old. It is estimated that total movement has been as much as 560 kilometers or 340 miles. The greatest recorded movement at one time was 5 meters in the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, which was measured at 8.25 on the Richter Scale and of coarse the highest magnitude recorded. Another disasterous event that resulted from the San Andreas Fault was the Los Angeles earthquake of 1994 in which 15 million dollars worth of damage was caused along with the lives of 51 people lost. What it is: The San Andreas Fault is a right lateral strike-slip fault, which means it always moves right. It is located along a transform boundary. This is a unique feature because of the fact that most transform boundaries are located within the ocean basins.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... References: Tarbuck,Edward J;Lutgens,Frederick K. "Earth,An Introduction to Physical Geology",Prentice Hall,New Jersey,1996,p370-71. List also refernced from this source.

Earthquakes Along the San Andreas Fault

Earthquake Links

Interesting Quake Info

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