Shaking Up the San Andreas Fault

Posted on Aug 20, 2010

Flickr / cocoi_m

An aerial view of the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain area of San Luis Obispo County.

While the threat of the Big One in Southern California’s earthquake culture is always present, a new report on the San Andreas fault suggests not only that more quakes have occurred along the fault than previously thought, but that California is “overdue for a huge temblor.”

Historical work found that massive quakes have occurred every 45 to 144 years along the notorious fault. —JCL

Los Angeles Times:

Major earthquakes along the San Andreas fault have occurred far more often than previously believed, according to a landmark study released Friday that suggests California is overdue for a huge temblor.

The long-awaited study came after scientists spent years studying the geology of the Carrizo Plain area of the San Andreas, which is about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The last massive earthquake on that part of the fault occurred in 1857. But researchers from UC Irvine and Arizona State University found that earthquakes have occurred as often as every 45 to 144 years.

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