Ameen Zayyat

Clinton T Schmidt
GEOG-1700-002
4/24/16
San Andreas Fault
The movie San Andreas talks about the San Andreas Fault. This movie mentions how
earthquakes work and how does it danger the society within the state of California.
What can we learn from this movie and base to our real life?
The San Andreas Fault runs up the spine of California to San Francisco, and it is a
demarcation of two plate tectonics that are constantly moving and colliding with
each other. The San Andreas Fault was brought affectedly to world attention in
1906, when a sudden shift along the fault produced the great San Francisco
earthquake and fire. The San Andreas Fault is more than 800 miles long and ranges
to depths of at least 10 miles within the Earth. It is also a few hundred feet wide.
The Fault is supposed to happen every 150 years; however based on the movie the
fault was a 100 years overdue. The question is not will it ever happen. However,
when? This shows that when it is overdue especially 100 years, means that it could
be stronger than expected.
During the movie, the first earthquake began at hoover dam in Vegas, which started
as a 2.3 and quickly escalated to a 7.1 magnitude. This destruction was so
devastating that the dam started cracking and then collapsed due to the strong
magnitude.

The start of the fault, which caused it to head straight to California, which caused a
6.5 to an 8.5 magnitude that caused an enormous destruction and had everything
in the city got destroyed. The whole fault line started too activated throughout the
state, which triggered many points to have different magnitudes. However, the
scientists have figured out how to tell if there would be an earthquake occurrence.
They have warned the state that it was not over and that there will be earthquakes
that are more active.
An earthquake of a 9.1 which was triggered and it was an experience that they all
have had turned into a 9.6 which was a recorded as the largest earthquake in
history. The 9.6 magnitude is so strong that it could be felt from the East Coast. In a
case like this that fault would have triggered more faults across the US.
Seismologists say that if you adjust the magnitudes for what is possible along the
real San Andreas Fault, the movie's triggering pattern is plausible. Which means
that it could possibly be the same magnitude as it was recorded of the states
history. However, there have been many methods that have been tested to see if
they can predict an earthquake. Unfortunately, they have all failed to succeed that
prediction. Although, the prediction can only be made once the earthquake occurs.
However, speaking hypothetically there is no way that L.A. could get a 9.6 in reality.
Therefore, in the modern day scientist believe that the fault can reach an
approximately 8.3 magnitude. Which is pretty still largely dangerous. This still can
cause a lot of damage and loss of lives.
In my opinion, some information about the movie is true and false and but in
general the movie somewhat sends a message to the world. Earthquakes happen
unexpectedly, which can be a very small magnitude to a large one.

The basic science is straightforward. The earth moves from time to time because
its outer shell is broken into huge, solid plates. These tectonic plates are constantly
pushing each other, like rafts crowded into a small downstream river, and it is along
the boundaries where they meet that most. The two plates that form California's
infamous San Andreas Fault, the Pacific and the North American plates, are the
largest on earth.

References:
http://geology.com/articles/san-andreas-fault.shtml
http://www.livescience.com/45294-san-andreas-fault.html