Although the San Andreas fault line is known for its earthquakes, many scientists have been claiming it’s been “surprisingly quiet” for the last 200 years. However, new research has detected small tremors deep under the fault system which suggest the fault line might not be as calm as they want us to believe. In fact, it’s quite possible that it’s getting ready to release a massive earthquake sometime soon.1
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(Not everyone has been hiding the tremors along the fault lines in the Pacific though…see below.)
“The San Jacinto Fault zone in Southern California is not actually a plate boundary but rather serves as the stress release point between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate as they grind together at the San Andreas Fault. An area of the San Jacinto Fault zone, known as the Anza Gap, is the main focus of the recent study.
The researchers used a new highly sensitive detection method called multibeam back projection, which calculates plate movement while minimizing incoherent outside noise, to take measurements deep beneath the fault zone in inland Southern California. In doing so, they uncovered previously undetected tectonic tremors, which are likely a result of “slow slips” within the fault, Phys Org reported.” 2
Abhijit Ghosh, an assistant professor of earth sciences at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside and a researcher involved in the project, says another question we need to ask is how the gap has been releasing its stress.
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However, the new report also stresses that the west coast isn’t in imminent danger; rather, this new information will help geologists to better predict future earthquakes.
What do you think? If you follow the YouTuber above you would see that he tracks and predicts with incredible accuracy and yet, we don’t hear about a tenth of the earthquakes he reports on and NOAA is aware of. Why do you suppose they aren’t making people more aware? Do you think people would leave California in droves if they thought the fault line was as dangerous a sleeping giant as others do?
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