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like-fit of plates that form the Earth’s surface) move against each other but in opposite directions, causing a buildup of strain between them. Once the strain surpasses
the strength of the rocks, which make up the plates, an earthquake results (releasing
the strain). In the San Francisco area the transform fault is called the ‘San Andreas’
(Fig. 10.1); it is the subject of a 2015 natural hazard, action thriller movie, by the
same name. Destroying over half the city and taking some ~3000 lives, the 1906
earthquake is one of the largest historic earthquakes in the contiguous U.S. (M w 7.9;
M w denotes the moment magnitude and is related to the total energy released during
an earthquake), but the historic record is short, especially for the later colonized
western U.S.
Fig. 10.1 Map of plate boundaries along the Cascadia subduction zone. The star on the Oregon
coast indicates the location of Fig. 10.2. (Modified from Kemp et al. 2018)
A. D. Hawkes
like-fit of plates that form the Earth’s surface) move against each other but in opposite directions, causing a buildup of strain between them. Once the strain surpasses
the strength of the rocks, which make up the plates, an earthquake results (releasing
the strain). In the San Francisco area the transform fault is called the ‘San Andreas’
(Fig. 10.1); it is the subject of a 2015 natural hazard, action thriller movie, by the
same name. Destroying over half the city and taking some ~3000 lives, the 1906
earthquake is one of the largest historic earthquakes in the contiguous U.S. (M w 7.9;
M w denotes the moment magnitude and is related to the total energy released during
an earthquake), but the historic record is short, especially for the later colonized
western U.S.
Fig. 10.1 Map of plate boundaries along the Cascadia subduction zone. The star on the Oregon
coast indicates the location of Fig. 10.2. (Modified from Kemp et al. 2018)
A. D. Hawkes