why might it be dangerous to live on or near the san andreas fault?

Question

well in cali the sandreas fault is 600 miles long, what would happend at a fault zone?

Answer 1

Ultimately it is a very dangerous place to live since it is one of the more seismically active areas in the United States. It was along this fault (and along adjacent faults which make up the "fault zone") that the major earthquakes have occurred in California. For example, the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake occurred along this fault zone.

As you suggest, it is 600 miles long which means there is a long line across Southern California along which a catastophic earthquake can occur.

Even without a catastophic quake, there are the ever present "minor" earthquakes which cause minimal damage such as broken glass, slope failures, cracks in highways and walls, etc.

It is actually those areas that have not seen much recent activity that are most prone to a major earthquake in the near future.

Living in a seismically active area has it's obvious risks. Unlike tornadoes in tornado alley or hurricanes in the coastal areas, earthquakes cannot be predicted with any certainty for any short time period.

Probabilities can be given that a major earthquake may occur within a 25-50 year time period, but it is just as likely to be in 25 years as it is 50 years. So you just have to be prepared to survive it because you won't have a chance to escape it.

Answer 2

It is dangerous because the San Andreas fault is an active source of earthquakes, and the closer you are to the fault the stronger the ground movement and the higher chance of ground fractures and displacements. However, a more important factor is the type of soil on which a building is resting. Sandy soils that are water saturated are the most dangerous, since they amplify surface movement, while solid rock is the safest. However, the fault zone is always a dangerous area even on bedrock, especially the San Andreas, which is capable of very strong earthquakes. In the Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco, one of the worst-hit areas was the Marina district built on saturated soil. That was almost 75 miles from the epicenter. Locations only a few miles from the epicenter were much less affected.

Answer 3

No, a fault is a damage interior the rocks alongside which there has been circulate. A fault also would not would want to comprehend the Earth's floor. A joint is an same aspect as a fault diverse than that no circulate occurrs. that is volatile to stay alongside a fault zone like the San Andreas because of tremendus rigidity that builds up between both factors of the fault as they attempt to bypass previous one yet another, yet are held in position through skill of friction. at very last the rigidity might want to be so tremendous that friction won't be able to carry both factors at the same time anymore and there is a unpredicted circulate. that is an earthquake.

Answer 4

a fault zone is the area where a fault line fails and creates an earthquake. Living on or near the San Andreas fault is dangerous because the stress travels along the entire fault. when one portion gives way there is stress along another section. as for living near the San Andreas fault an earthquake in the early 1900's was detected on seismographs in New York City.

Answer 5

Although there is a danger of severe earthquakes, smaller ones are far more frequent. There is also related faults that are not always mapped. The dangers from earthquakes can vary from damaging structures, disloging water heaters, breaking glass, to shaking your house down, tsunami's (not much danger from s. andreas), cracks, to broken utility lines. Sometimes there is surface rupture at the fault but the earth opening up and swallowing you is mostly fiction.

Answer 6

When it is actively moving, it completly tears the ground apart. Also, if you stay on the western side of the fault, in about 25 million years you will be living along the coast of Alaska, somewhere near Juneau.

Answer 7

The ever present danger of a super earthquake.

This faultline is caused by two tectonic plates (North Pacific basin and the North American shield) colliding forming the Rockies and the forces are tremendous and must be released in the form of super massive earthquakes.

Jules, Australia.

Answer 8

I would not worry about it...
A lot of people live near it..
If it bothers you......move...