What is the San Andreas Fault
It is a strike-slip fault, that is, a crack in the Earth in which the two blocks that touch each other move horizontally in opposite directions, in this case that of the Pacific (to the west) and that of North America (to the west). this).
The fault generates enormous concern among the inhabitants of the area, due to the crack’s ability to generate large-scale earthquakes. The last important one was in 1906, which devastated the city of San Francisco.
However, the San Andreas is only the “master” fault of a system of fissures that runs through the rocks of the entire coast of the state of California. This rift system is more than 1,200 km wide, and extends to a depth of more than 15 kilometers into the Earth.
What is the Big One, the earthquake that stalks California
He Big One It is a hypothetical earthquake of a magnitude of more than 8 degrees that will occur at some point on the San Andreas fault. This earthquake is expected to cause damage in a radius of about 80-160 kilometers from the seismic zone of the fault, which includes urban areas such as Palm Springs, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The last “Big Ones” to shake California are the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 (magnitude 7.8) and the Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 (magnitude 7.9), which occurred in northern and central California, respectively. Currently, in 2024, it cannot be stated exactly when the earthquake will occur, but it is believed that it will take place in southern California.
The unusual earthquake that shook New York
An unusual earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred this Friday around New York, causing slight tremors for a few seconds in numerous neighborhoods of the Big Apple and interrupting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Gaza.
The earthquake occurred “at 2:23 p.m. GMT (10:23 a.m. local time) 7 kilometers northeast of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey,” the border state of New York, on the other side of the Hudson River, and at a depth of 5 kilometers, according to the United States Geophysical Institute (USGS). No significant damage or injuries were immediately reported.
The slight tremor was felt in numerous neighborhoods in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, causing an avalanche of messages on social networks.
Source: Ambito
