Recent UNUSUAL Activities in the San Andreas Fault Could Trigger a Major Earthquake!

the ground started shaking 200 small earthquakes in a little more than 24 hours almost exactly where earthquake simulators have shown the big one could erupt in the city of California a dangerous geological threat is building up power and waiting for the perfect or in reality worst time to strike California from Los Angeles to San Francisco is anxious and on edge about what so many fear will be the big one the San Andreas fault is notorious for the the life-threatening and destructive earthquakes it has caused in the past and recent unusual activities in the fault and the surrounding areas show another could happen sooner than we think so scientists are desperate for any clues that might help predict when an earthquake Could Happen scientists have concluded that the impending disaster could make history as one of the worst earthquakes the fault has triggered but why why is this fault a constant worry to the city of California join us as we reveal the recent unusual activities in the San Andreas fault and why these signs could trigger a major earthquake the impending disaster in California the San Andreas fault which covers over 750 Mi of land has been a problem for the city of California for decades for over a 100 years this fault has been quietly Gathering energy getting ready to unleash a massive amount of force as the two huge plates that make up the Earth's surface the Pacific and North American plates push against each other they should be moving slowly but they are constantly stuck and when the San Andreas fault finally breaks it will cause the worst earthquake California has ever recorded the earthquake nicknamed the big one will be insanely and unimaginably Powerful causing widespread damage and changing the geographical area forever the impending earthquake is not just a possibility but a reality that will certainly happen in our lifetime in case you think it's going to take a century or more before the fault finally breaks and to make matters worse the San Andreas fault is not just calling bluff in fact scientists are more worried because there have been some recent signs of activity in the Parkfield area that suggest a huge earthquake similar to the one that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 is coming they are trying to figure out what is happening in Parkfield and if there is anything that can be done to prevent or reduce the impact of such a disaster the answers to these questions are even more frightening than you might expect for over a 100 years scientists have been trying to understand the Parkfield section of the San Andreas fault which runs right through the small town of Parkfield this area has been attracting scientists attention because of its unusual activities showing a high potential for a massive earthquake Parkfield is a very small town with only 18 residence but it's special because it's located on a part of the San Andreas fault that has a unique pattern of earthquakes every 22 years or so a moderate sized earthquake around magnitude 6.0 happens in this area scientists are interested in this regular pattern which has been observed since 1857 they recorded some earthquakes in 1881 1901 1922 1934 and 1966 each with similar characteristics this makes Parkfield a valuable place for scientists to study earthquakes and learn more about what happens before during and after they occur the most recent earthquake in Parkfield happened in 2004 when a magnitude 6.0 Quake shook the area although it was moderate it provided very important information for scientists to study they can use this data to better understand how faults work and what signs might show that an earthquake is coming Park Field's unique pattern makes it a natural laboratory for scientists who can learn valuable lessons from the town's seismic activity scientists saw a great chance to learn more about earthquakes by studying the San Andreas fault near Parkfield so they started a big project called the San Andreas Fault fa Observatory at depth just north of Parkfield a team of scientists tried to drill deep into the Earth's crust to reach the heart of the San Andreas fault they wanted to put special sensors 2 to 3 km underground to get a closer look at what happens inside the Fault by doing this they hope to understand better how the earth's tectonic forces work together to cause earthquakes now the data from these senses suggests that the fault is building up a lot of energy just like it did before previous earthquakes this is worrying because it means that a big earthquake might be coming also there have been more earthquakes in the San Andreas fault system in recent years which is a sign that the fault is active and might be getting ready for a bigger Quake the scientists are keeping a close eye on the data to see if they can learn more about what's happening and if they can predict when the next big earthquake will happen small earthquakes might not always mean a big one is coming but they can be a sign that a lot of pressure is building up along the fault scientists are still trying to figure out how to predict when and how big earthquakes will be but they're keeping a close eye on the San Andrea's fault because of some unusual activity lately before we get into more details about the impending earthquake let's remember that Southern California is used to earthquakes in fact people in the area feel around 10,000 earthquakes every year most of them are too small to notice but it's still a lot the reason for all these earthquakes is that California has over 500 active faults which are like cracks in the Earth's surface that can cause shaking at any time but among the many fault lines in California one has received worldwide Fame the San Andreas fault this massive fault which stretches for 800 mil from the San Francisco area to Los Angeles and then continues into Mexico and the Gulf of California has been in existence for 30 million years formed by the Collision of two enormous tectonic plates the Pacific and North American plates to understand how the San Andreas fault Works think of two massive trains moving slowly in opposite directions one train the Pacific Plate is headed Northwest while the other the North American Plate is headed Southeast you might expect them to slowly pass each other without any issues but these trains are so heavily loaded with cargo that they get stuck on each other and come to a halt this is simp similar to what happens with the tectonic plates which get stuck and then suddenly move causing earthquakes this process has been happening for millions of years and it's still happening today the two tectonic plates the Pacific and North American plates are like two trains that are stuck together instead of moving smoothly past each other they keep building up energy until it becomes too much eventually the energy is released and the plates suddenly move causing the ground to shake and tremble this is similar to what happens when the trains Lurch forward causing their carriages to shake and people to fall over this process has been happening for 30 million years and it's what makes the San Andrea's fault so active as the plates move past each other they don't do it smoothly instead they get stuck and then suddenly move causing earthquakes in the past 30 million years the plates have moved over 350 mil but it's not a steady movement there are sudden bursts of movement which is what causes the earthquakes the San Andreas fault is special because of the way the plates move it's called a strike slip fault which means that the plates are sliding past each other horizontally this type of fault is less common than others but that's not what makes the San Andreas fault so potentially dangerous how dangerous the San Andreas fault is the San Andreas fault is a major concern for geologists because of its location the fact is most people in California live very close to The Fault which puts them at risk this includes millions of people in big cities like Los Angeles San Francisco and San Jose as well as smaller towns like San Bernardino and Santa Barbara the fault runs right through the middle of many of these places which means that even a small earthquake could cause a lot of damage what's even more worrying is that some buildings and infrastructure have been constructed directly on top of the fault for example the Bay Area Rapid Transit System in San Francisco has a tunnel that goes right through the middle of the fault this means that if a big earthquake were to happen the impact could be catastrophic the combination of the faults location and the large number of people living nearby makes it a geologist's worst nightmare the earthquake that happened in Northridge in 1994 is another perfect example of what the disaster of the San Andreas fault can cause it was caused by a smaller fault connected to the San Andreas fault and and hit the San Fernando Valley early in the morning the earthquake was strong measuring 6.7 and caused a lot of damage buildings collapsed 57 people died and it cost around $2 billion to fix everything but here's the scariest part that earthquake was small compared to what the San Andrea's fault can do it was just a tiny Taste of what's possible the Northridge Earthquake was a wakeup call but it's not the worst that can happen the San Andreas fault has the potential to cause much bigger and more destructive earthquakes we're talking about something that could change the whole of California forever to understand the true power of the San Andreas fault we need to look back at one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was a terrifying event that showed us what can happen when the San Andreas Fault really unleashes its fury on April 18th 1906 a massive earthquake hit at 5:12 a.m. measuring around 7.9 in intensity the ground shook for a long 48 seconds causing widespread destruction and triggering fires that burned for days the aftermath of the earthquake was like a nightmare come true more than 80% of San Francisco was reduced to Rubble leaving hundreds of thousands of people without homes the city was was unrecognizable and the impact was felt and remembered for a very long time unimaginable destruction and loss of life occurred during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake the estimated death toll was around 3,000 but some reports suggest it was even higher the economic impact was also severe with damages estimated between 350 million to $500 million at the time which is equivalent to over 13 billion in today's dollars so what makes us think so convinced an earthquake is coming to the region the San Andreas fault is Infamous for its history of causing devastating earthquakes including the 1906 San Francisco disaster and the 1857 Southern California Quake while the region has experienced a relatively quiet period in recent years scientists are warning that a major earthquake is long overdue in fact they believe there's actually a chance of a massive earthquake striking the fault line within the next 50 years the San Andreas faults past Destruction has left a lasting impact and its reputation has been cemented in popular culture through films and media but the reality of the situation is just as shocking people living in Los Angeles have been feeling small earthquakes since June especially in the El Sereno neighborhood on the east side the most recent one on August 12th happened in the same general area as a few others that occurred in June these earthquakes including ones on June 2nd June 4th and June 24th were all centered near the intersection of Huntington Drive and Eastern Avenue according to James Dolan a professor of Earth Sciences at USC all of these earthquakes are connected to the same fault system called The penty Hills thrust fault system they're all happening in a small area area just beneath the main fault line while it might seem alarming to have so many earthquakes in one area Professor Dolan emphasizes that they're actually very small and don't necessarily mean a bigger earthquake is coming these small earthquakes are common and don't always lead to larger ones Dolan wants to reassure people that while it's necessary to be aware of the seismic activity these small earthquakes don't necessarily predict a massive earthquake on the pente Hills thrust fault now here's where things get even more interesting the unforgettable 2021 disaster earthquakes usually happen here every 22 years but the last one was in 2004 which was earlier than expected scientists were able to collect a lot of data from that earthquake which helped them learn more about how earthquakes work and how they affect the Earth's surface the leader of the new study Luca Malini thinks that the area is now getting close to the end of its quiet period which means another earthquake might be coming soon malini's research focused on how sound waves behave during earthquakes he found that the way sound waves are absorbed or scattered can tell us a lot about what's happening in the Earth's crust when stress builds up it creates cracks which changes how sound waves move through the rock a team of earthquake experts wanted to know what would happen when the big one hit California so they created a scenario called Shake out to predict the damage and impacts they imagined a 7.8 magnitude earthquake striking the Coachella Valley on November 13th 2008 at 10: a.m. and modeled how the ground would Shake then other experts used that information to estimate the effects 6 weeks before a small earthquake they noticed that highfrequency sound waves were being absorbed more than usual this is similar to what happened before a previous earthquake Luca Malini the lead researcher thinks that this might be a sign that another earthquake is coming soon to the area around Parkfield but remember that soon can mean anywhere from now to the next 100,000 years in geological terms we don't want to sensationalize the situation but rather provide accurate information more evidence suggests that the southern San Andreas fault is a major threat in 2006 a respected geophysicist named Yuri fialco conducted a study that raised concerns in the scientific community falo's research has drawn attention to the potential danger of the fault which has been relatively quiet for a long time that's not all after the constant movement of the Pacific and North American plates was discovered to be causing destructive pressure to build up along the San Andreas Fault as time went on the fault was becoming increasingly strained making a massive earthquake more and more likely the study by Yuri fialco showed just how bad things could get if a big earthquake were to happen along the southern part of the fault it would be a disaster unlike anything we've seen in recent history many older buildings which aren't designed to withstand strong earthquakes could collapse easily the shaking could also cause soil liquefaction in coastal areas making the ground unstable and potentially leading to widespread damage to homes and buildings the potential consequences of such an earthquake were terrifying entire neighborhoods could be destroyed leaving thousands of people without homes the impact would be felt far beyond the immediate area causing widespread disruption to daily life the stud's findings stressed the urgent need for preparedness and action to mitigate the risks this included retrofitting older buildings to make them more earthquake resistant as well as implementing emergency plans to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a disaster with all that has happened and seems to currently be happening in the San Andreas fault do you think an earthquak will suddenly happen anus soon we would love to know in the comments if you enjoyed watching this video don't forget to leave a like share it with your family and friends And subscribe to our channel so you don't miss our next 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