what is going to happen to all of central California? Will it just gradually disintegrate? I read that the San Andreas fault is slipping on an average of 2 inches per year.
2007-06-14 06:54:12 · 7 answers · asked by snakecharmer 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
L.A. and S.F. are on adjacent plates that are moving in opposite directions, toward each other. At some point they will be next to each other. At that point the Central Valley, on the L.A. side will have moved north by the same distance as L.A.
2007-06-14 07:18:52 · answer #1 · answered by tfloto 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question that nobody really knows the answer to.
My feeling is that from the San Gabriel Mtns south to the tip of Baja will move north as a unit and remain attached to the western edge of the North American plate. The San Joaquin Valley (Central Valley) will probably remain similar as it is today, provided that nothing changes with the Southern Coast Range Mtns, along the western boundary.
The North American Plate, Pacific Plate boundary was previously a subduction zone boundary in the past and changed to a transform boundary (eg: San Andreas fault) as it is today. Depending on the long term geologic changes on the planet, the potential exists that it could change back to a subduction boundary at some point in the future.
I'm sure there are many schools of thought on this, but nobody really knows for sure what will happen.
2007-06-14 14:41:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The San Andreas Fault is the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates. Everything west of the fault is moving northwest relative to everything east of it. Los Angeles is NOT on the North American Plate, 30 million years ago, Baja was part of the Mexican mainland. The Gulf of California will gradually open farther north up to Cape Mendecino (sp?) along the San Andreas and continue to widen. That segment to the west will continue it's voyage toward the western Alutian Islands.
2007-06-15 00:10:34 · answer #3 · answered by Warren N 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, tough question to answer...
If the southwestern coast of the US continues to migrate northward as the plates grind together, it will likely build the mass of land that is on either side of it. So as it moves northward, I would expect the compression of the land masses to actually cause the entire San Andreas valley to rise, which would mean that it WONT flood and disappear.
As for how far it moves, it is generally accepted that in about 1 million years, the land mass WEST of the fault will be part of Alaska (providing that Alaska does not move).
2007-06-14 14:09:09 · answer #4 · answered by parrothead_usn 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They have been saying this for years...Southern California is suppose to be an Island or something like that
2007-06-14 14:05:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Where did yoiu ever hear that LA is a suburb of San Fran?
LA is a city, just as San Fran is a city!
2007-06-14 14:05:00 · answer #6 · answered by whymewhynow 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Which bathroom wall did that graffiti come from ?? It's a a joke. Doesn't hold scientific water.
2007-06-14 14:17:11 · answer #7 · answered by Gene 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋