San Andreas Fault and Earthquakes
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This paper will be concerned with earthquakes caused by the San Andreas Fault in the state of California. There are numerous earthquake fault systems to be found throughout California; however, the San Andreas Fault is by far the largest and "most conspicuous in the state" (Iacopi, 1964, p. 12). Approximately 650 miles long, it is clearly the longest fault in the state. In addition, it is one of the deepest, dropping as far as 20 or 30 miles into the earth's crust at certain points (p. 21). The San Andreas Fault varies widely in width throughout its stretch. In some sections, the fault is less than 100 yards wide. However, in other locations, the San Andreas Fault is "several hundred yards to a mile or more in width and is interlaced with any number of sub-parallel fault lines" (p. 22). The San Andreas Fault basically runs along the Coast Mountains which follow the Pacific coast of California. In the north, the city of San Francisco is built directly on the fault's pathway. In the south of the state, the fault branches inland somewhat before it arrives at the city of Los Angeles. Scientific evidence shows that the San Andreas Fault continues southward until it reaches the Gulf of California separating Baja California and Mexico. The San Andreas Fault itself disappears under the delta of the Colorado River at the tip of the Gulf of California (Iacopi, 1964, p. 31). Nevertheless, earthquake patterns along the west coast of Mexico are apparently in the same line as thos
. . .
ceanic fracture zones" (Dickinson and Grantz, 1968, p. 212).
Not all earthquakes in California can be attributed to the connections between faults and tectonic plates. For example, many smaller quakes in the area are not caused by major fault lines such as the San Andreas Fault, but rather by small folds on the ocean floor off the coast. These folds are "geologic structures formed when layered sediments are buckled upward... when two moving tectonic plates collide" (Stein and Yeats, 1989, p. 48). Nevertheless, most of the major earthquakes in California have resulted from the movement of tectonic plates along fault lines. As the plates shift past each other, they sometimes get stuck. This, in turn, creates a strain in the earth's crust which results in a sudden earthquake when the straining forces of the two plates break past each other (Golden, 1983, p. 135). Oceanographic and geologic studies have shown that the Pacific Plate bordering the San Andreas Fault is "moving an average of two inches per year to the northwest" (DeNevi, 1977, p. 25). However, knowing how fast the Pacific Plate is moving does very little to help predict the frequency of major quakes along the San Andreas or any other fault. Nevertheless, Kerry Sieh
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Approximate Word count = 1935
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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