Ch. 15 California

This chapter discusses California. California is much different than Florida in many ways including the weather, the topography and the hazards that it's residents face. Florida is know for Hurricanes and California is famous for it's earthquakes. California does not experience any hurricanes due to the surface temperature of the Pacific ocean being very cold during the whole year. California residents face the daily fears of the possibility of an earthquake. California is home to a fault line called the San Andreas fault which is responsible for the majority of the earthquakes including small ones that are common to very large ones that are not as common but when they strike can cause major damage throughout.

[1] The San Andreas Fault has had some notable earthquakes in historic times:

• 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake: About 217 miles (349 km) were ruptured in central and southern California. Though it is known as the Fort Tejon earthquake, the epicenter is thought to have been located far to the north, just south of Parkfield. Only two deaths were reported. The magnitude was about 7.9.
• 1906 San Francisco earthquake: About 267 miles (430 km) were ruptured in Northern California. The epicenter was near San Francisco. At least 3000 people died in the earthquake and subsequent fires. This time the magnitude was estimated to be 7.8.
• 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake: About 25 miles (40 km) were ruptured (although the rupture did not reach the surface) near Santa Cruz, California, causing 63 deaths and moderate damage in certain vulnerable locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moment magnitude this time was about 6.9. The earthquake also postponed game 3 of the 1989 World Series at Candlestick Park. This quake occurred on October 17, 1989, at approximately 5:04 P.M. PDT.
• 2004 Parkfield earthquake: On September 28, 2004, at 10:15 A.M. PDT, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck California on the San Andreas Fault.

Earthquake Damage to San Francisco 1906

Earthquake Damage to San Francisco 1906

 
Earthquakes are such a big concern for California that one of the most visible impacts is the skyline of California's big cities like Los Angeles. Due to Earthquake laws there is a limit to how tall the buildings can be built. Thankfully for California, breakthroughs in structural design and materials have now paved way to larger construction. Today many Californians still have belief in the "The Big One". The big one refers to an Earthquake of larger magnitude of a 7.0. Researchers believe that due to the extended time without major seismic activity from the San Andreas that tremendous stress is forming and that one day that stress will give and we will have the big one.

Source 1