The map provided by the U.S. Geological Survey highlights 11 recent earthquakes, all occurring on the seabed of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, approximately 6 miles below the surface. The plate, which is described as “small” by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), is fairly active, moving east-northeast at approximately 1.6 inches per year.

To date, the USGS has not issued any warnings over this spate of earthquakes, given the fairly common nature of the caliber of quakes, Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center told the Daily Mail.

QUAKES AND ERUPTIONS SPARK TALKS OF YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO

Part of the concern surrounding the plate is that it is not a smooth motion, but rather a motion described as “sticky,” causing strain to build up “until the fault breaks and a few meters of Juan De Fuca slips under North America in a big earthquake.”

PNSN noted that it would take a lot of slip (approximately 10s of meters) over a very large area to generate an M9 (magnitude of 9.0) level earthquake that could hit the region, but
noted that it does occur approximately every 550 years on average.

The cause for concern is what happens when the Juan de Fuca plate eventually submerges under the much larger Pacific plate. For approximately 330 years, the plate has continuously been pushed down, an activity that will eventually lead it to be pushed under the North America plate, causing the region to sink six feet on the minimum and may result in one of the largest earthquakes in human history.

If the entire 650-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone (which includes the Juan de Fuca plate) were to experience a full rupture, it could not only trigger a 9.0 earthquake but a tsunami as well.

The Juan De Fuca plate stretches from Northern California to British Columbia and the Cascadia Subduction Zone stretches from N. Vancouver Island to Cape Mendicino, California.

SCIENTISTS FIND DOZENS OF HIDDEN EARTHQUAKES BURIED UNDER ANTARCTICA’S ICE

Recent studies have highlighted how vulnerable we are to the proverbial “Big One.”

Last month, one study detailed that there is a 15- to 20-mile-long stretch of the San Andreas fault ‒ called the Durmid ladder structure ‒ that could result in an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or greater.

“This newly identified Durmid ladder structure is a voluminous, right-reverse fault zone that broadens across Durmid Hill around rotating domains of regularly spaced, left- and right-lateral cross faults,” a research article on the study reads.

The research put the odds at 75 percent that it would occur in both northern and southern California sometime over the next 30 years.

The “Big One” has been warned about several times before, with the USGS writing extensively on the topic, including how to use past earthquakes to better predict the future.

Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/science/big-one-coming-earthquakes-off-the-west-coast-could-eventually-trigger-a-global-event

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LOS ANGELES— A major California fault capable of producing a magnitude 8 earthquake has begun moving for the first time on record, a result of this year’s Ridgecrest earthquake sequence destabilizing nearby faults, Caltech scientists say in a new study released in the journal Science on Thursday.

In the modern historical record, the 257-kilometer-long Garlock fault on the northern edge of the Mojave Desert has never been observed to produce either a strong earthquake or even to creep — the slow movement between earthquakes that causes a visible scar on the ground surface. But new satellite radar images now show that the fault has started to move, causing a bulging of land that can be viewed from space.

“This is surprising because we’ve never seen the Garlock fault do anything. Here, all of a sudden, it changed its behavior,” said the lead author of the study, Zachary Ross, assistant professor of geophysics at Caltech. “We don’t know what it means.”

The observations reported are another piece of evidence that illustrates a widely persistent myth that circulates in California and beyond — that quakes like the Ridgecrest temblors are somehow a good thing that makes future quakes less likely. In fact, generally speaking, earthquakes make future earthquakes more likely. Most of the time, the follow-up quakes are smaller. But occasionally, they’re bigger.

The creeping illustrates how the Ridgecrest quakes that began on the Fourth of July have destabilized this remote desert region of California between the state’s greatest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, and its lowest point, Death Valley. Not only has the Garlock fault begun to creep in one section, but there’s also been a substantial swarm of small earthquakes in another section of the fault, and two additional clusters of earthquakes elsewhere — one south of Owens Lake and the other in the Panamint Valley just west of Death Valley.

Whether the destabilization will result in a major quake soon cannot be predicted. In September, the U.S. Geological Survey said the most likely scenario is that the Ridgecrest quakes probably won’t trigger a larger earthquake. Nevertheless, the USGS said that the July quakes have raised the chances of an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 or more on the nearby Garlock, Owens Valley, Blackwater, and Panamint Valley faults over the next year.

Also, a creeping fault triggered by a nearby quake doesn’t necessarily mean a big quake is coming. The southernmost tip of the San Andreas Fault has traditionally crept in response to distant quakes, including the magnitude 8.2 quake off the coast of southern Mexico in 2017, nearly 3,200 kilometers away. “But that doesn’t mean the San Andreas went off,” said USGS research geologist Kate Scharer, who was not part of the study.

What’s unusual now, Ross said, is that the Garlock fault has been seismically quiet in the historical record until now. And while it’s unclear what the creeping and aftershocks might mean for the near future, the newly recorded movement highlights how much of a potential risk the Garlock fault is to California, should it rupture in a big way.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2019/10/17/a-california-fault-capable-of-producing-an-80-magnitude-earthquake-has-begun-to-move-scientists-say.html

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Most of the 39 significant earthquakes that have struck California within the last 24 hours have happened along the San Andreas Fault.  The following comes from CBS News…

A swarm of earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault, the largest measuring a 4.1 magnitude, rumbled through the Hollister area and the Salinas Valley Friday morning. CBS San Francisco, citing officials, reports the quakes rattled nerves but caused no major damage.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 4.1 quake hit at 5:58 a.m. PDT 12 miles southwest of the small community of Tres Pinos. It was followed by quakes measuring 3.6, 3.2 and 3.0.

Officials are saying that this shaking was caused by “movement along the San Andreas Fault system”, and the initial magnitude 4.1 quake was quickly followed by a series of more than 20 aftershocks…

After a magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 12 miles from Hollister at 5:58 a.m., more than 20 aftershocks rattled the area in the following hours. The smaller quakes registered as high as 3.6 magnitude and were felt as far away as Monterey and Santa Cruz.

When you live in an area that sits along a major earthquake fault, it can be easy to forget the potential danger if nothing happens for an extended period of time.

But the danger is always there, and for many California residents the rattling that we witnessed on Friday was a clear reminder of that fact.

Thankfully, these earthquakes did not cause substantial damage, but local residents were definitely shaken up…

One in Hollister said: “Was asleep, felt like someone was shaking the bed.”

Another resident in Monterey Bay expressed concern that recent quakes could indicate a major earthquake – commonly known as the ‘Big One’ – could be on the way.

They wrote: “Been feeling a lot of tremors the last several months.

“The Hayward Fault is overdue and coming to thump. Any time now. It’s definitely coming relatively soon.”

Hopefully this current shaking will fizzle out and things will go back to normal.

But experts tell us that California is definitely overdue for a major earthquake and that “the Big One” will happen at some point…

Experts say California is overdue for a huge earthquake with some warning a major magnitude 7.0 is likely within the next 30 years.

A 2008 report by USGS described the Hayward Fault, which runs to the east of San Francisco, as a “tectonic time bomb” which could threaten the city’s seven million residents.

And when “the Big One” does strike, it could potentially be far worse than most people have ever imagined.

In a previous article, I quoted from a news story about a recent study that concluded that a major earthquake could potentially “plunge large parts of California into the sea almost instantly”…

The Big One may be overdue to hit California, but scientists near LA have found a new risk for the area during a major earthquake.

They claim that if a major tremor hits the area, it could plunge large parts of California into the sea almost instantly.

The discovery was made after studying the Newport-Inglewood fault, which has long been believed to be one of Southern California’s danger zones.

When I first read that, I was absolutely stunned.

But according to Cal State Fullerton professor Matt Kirby, there is a very strong possibility that this could actually happen someday…

Cal State Fullerton professor Matt Kirby, who worked with the Leeper on the study, said the sinking would occur quickly and likely result in part of California being covered by the sea.

“It’s something that would happen relatively instantaneously,” Prof Kirby said. “Probably today if it happened, you would see seawater rushing in.”

The fact that our planet is entering a time of unprecedented seismic activity has been a major theme in my work for a very long time, and I am particularly concerned about the west coast.  Just a few weeks ago, there was some unusual shaking farther north along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and I anticipate that the shaking of coastal areas will continue to intensify until things finally break loose.

And the truth is that we can see signs of impending change all around us.  Down in southern California, a “moving sinkhole” is now traveling up to 60 feet a day, and it is “destroying everything in its path”…

It is the beginning of the San Andreas fault, where experts fear ‘The Big One’ could begin.

But a small, bubbling pool of mud that stinks of rotting eggs near the Salton Sea is causing concern.

Dubbed ‘the slow one’, experts studying the phenomenon say it is similar to a ‘moving sinkhole’ – and is speeding up, destroying everything in its path.

Imperial County officials studying the muddy spring say it has has been increasing in speed through – first 60 feet over a few months, and then 60 feet in a single day.

Of course this is not just a west coast phenomenon.  We have been witnessing unusual seismic activity all over the world, and it has become very clear that our planet is becoming increasingly unstable.

Natural disasters are going to continue to grow worse and worse, and that is going to have extremely serious implications for all of us.

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-03/california-hit-39-quakes-24-hours-scientists-warn-movement-along-san-andreas-fault

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Seismologists have said California is due — and perhaps overdue — for the “big one,” another massive earthquake that would cause significant damage, but just when such a quake would strike is unpredictable.

“There is a 99.9% chance that there will be a damaging quake (magnitude greater than or equal to 6.7) somewhere in California in the next 30 years,” said Peggy Hellweg, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley. “We don’t have any idea exactly where and when such a quake can happen.”

John Vidale of the Southern California Earthquake Center, said California’s fears are legitimate.

A “big one” quake of a magnitude-8.0 near the San Andreas Fault would break several hundred miles along the faultline. Even more crippling, would be a smaller magnitude-7.0 placed in the heart of Los Angeles, he said.

“We have no real due date,” Vidale said.

Jen Andrews, a seismologist at the Caltech Seismo Lab, said when the infamous San Andreas fault is broken up into three sections — top, central and lower — it’s clear the section that’s gone the longest amount of time without a big quake is the southern portion.

In fact, the lower section hasn’t seen a large event for about 300 years.

“They don’t happen like clockwork, nor do they happen with the same frequency on different sections of the fault,” Andrews said. “However, the average time between quakes tends to be on the order of 100 to a few hundred years, and in several places it has been about that interval since the last large quake.”

That’s why seismologists talk about the southern part of the state being due, or even overdue, for another big earthquake, she said.

“It’s reasonable for California to be concerned about earthquake hazard and the ‘big one’ as it’s only a question of time. Earthquakes are unpredictable though, so the when and where are very difficult to say and we can only talk in terms of ‘likelihood.”

Andrews concluded: “Anniversaries of big events, as well as smaller felt earthquakes, are great reminders that we should take measures to be prepared for the next one.”

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/04/18/california-earthquakes-when-big-one-hit/527732002/

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Some eight earthquakes have rocked the United States in quick succession, all of which have taken place on April 9.

The strongest of the earthquakes, and also the most recent, came in Perry, Oklahoma, when a 4.3 magnitude tremor hit the central US state.

However, there have been no reports of damage to buildings in the area.

People took to social media to share their experience, with one writing: “Another earthquake in Oklahoma, shaking us awake just now!”

GETTY • GOOGLE

Earthquake strikes US: California, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska hit in quick succession .

USGS

The strongest earthquake came in Oklahoma.

Other people share similar views, with Twitter user Arianna saying that she believes this is a sign that a bigger earthquake is coming.

She wrote: “All these little earthquakes just leading up to the big earthquake soon that destroys us”.

Since midnight, there have also been earthquakes in Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and three in California.

Both California and Alaska sit on the deadly Ring of Fire – the largest and most active fault line in the world, stretching from New Zealand, all around the east coast of Asia, over to Canada and the USA and all the way down to the southern tip of South America – which causes more than 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.

Also in California sits the San Andreas fault, where two huge plates meet.

This has also caused many earthquakes over the years, including the recent 5.3 magnitude tremor striking just off the Pacific coast on April 6, rattling Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

Researchers believe that the San Andreas fault is overdue the ‘Big One’ – a potentially catastrophic earthquake which could cause widespread destruction in the southwest of the US.

Last year, Robert Graves, a research geophysicist at the USGS, said that the Big One could be overdue by 10 years.

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New data has revealed the fault line running through Los Angeles’ exclusive shopping district of Beverly Hills is at risk if the Big One hits.

A new map of the region using the latest data from the US Geological Survey shows Beverly Hills – which is situated on the Ring Fire – is at greater risk from earthquakes than previously thought.

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