fault lines

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Fault Likely Behind Monday's Quake Has Terrifying Potential

Puente Hills thrust fault system could cause up to 18K deaths if 7.5 magnitude quake hits in LA

(Newser) - The San Andreas Fault is probably the best known fault in California, but scientists say a different fault system was likely behind Monday's 4.4 magnitude quake in the Los Angeles area. Although seismologists note that multiple faults run through and near the City of Angels—including the Elysian...

X Marks the Spot: Why Machu Picchu Is Where It Is
X Marks the Spot: Why
Machu Picchu Is Where It Is
new study
Sep 26, 2019 8:51 AM CDT

X Marks the Spot: Why Machu Picchu Is Where It Is

Famous citadel in Andes lies atop intersecting fault lines, and that has advantages

(Newser) - Tourists who make the arduous trek to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel built high in the Andes of Peru, might have two big questions: Why build here, and how? A new study appears to have found the answers: Machu Picchu is built atop intersecting fault lines that form something...

New Zealand's Islands Are Moving
Islands 'Creeping'
Closer Together
Nov 23, 2018 10:14 AM CST

Islands 'Creeping' Closer Together

New Zealand islands still unsettled after 2016 earthquake

(Newser) - New Zealanders are coming together this holiday season in more ways than one. A magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck two years ago initially brought the country's North and South Islands about 16 feet closer together, and the land masses have continued to close the gap. Scientists say the distance...

Earthquake Scientists' Favorite Curb Is No More

It showed the seismic forces of Hayward Fault

(Newser) - To scientists, it was a stunning example of the power of the "tectonic time bomb" known as the Hayward Fault. To city officials, it was a curb that desperately needed a fix. So in June, officials in Hayward, Calif., repaired a once-straight curb pulled apart over decades by seismic...

California's 'Big One' Could Be Caused by 2 Faults Combining

A 'grim seismic scenario'

(Newser) - When we think about building-leveling earthquakes in California, it can seem like the San Andreas fault is the only game in town. Heck, The Rock even made a movie about it. But a study published last week in Science Advances finds the San Andreas could have an equally dangerous partner...

LA Council Approves Skyscrapers on Fault Line

Developer says site is safe, despite state concerns

(Newser) - What could go wrong? LA's city council this week approved a plan to build two skyscrapers and a million square feet of office, hotel, and retail space—even after the head of the California Geological Survey warned that the Hollywood fault "goes right through" the proposed site. The...

Major Quake Looms for Ill-Prepared Oregon

 Major Quake 
 Looms for 
 Ill-Prepared 
 Oregon 
in case you missed it
Aug 5, 2012 12:48 PM CDT

Major Quake Looms for Ill-Prepared Oregon

'Oregon is not ready,' says an expert

(Newser) - Oregon is sitting on a ticking time bomb, and stands a 40% chance of getting hit by a major earthquake—possibly as big as the one that hit Japan last year—in the next half-century, according to an ominous new report out of Oregon State University. Adding to concern: Shaking...

Big Question of Yesterday's Quake: Why Virginia?

And will it happen again?

(Newser) - "Smack dab in the middle of Virginia" doesn't seem like the likeliest earthquake epicenter locale, and yesterday's quake has plenty of East Coasters wondering why it struck there—and if it'll happen again. The Christian Science Monitor tosses out the word "rare": USGS seismic hazard...

One Island, Two Faults Adds Up to Trouble Ahead
One Island, Two Faults
Adds Up to Trouble Ahead
haiti earthquake
Jan 26, 2010 8:04 PM CST

One Island, Two Faults Adds Up to Trouble Ahead

Geologists keeping a worried eye on the Haiti-Dominican Republic hot zone

(Newser) - Haiti's devastating earthquake came as a shock to most non-geologists, but the Caribbean is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. The Caribbean plate is squeezed between two larger plates, the North American and South American, creating loaded fault lines. Haiti's quake was along the Enriquillo line—...

Geologists Warned of Haiti Earthquake

Calculations predicted temblor of up to 7.2 magnitude—but not timing

(Newser) - Scientists have known for years that the fault Haiti sits on was due for a large-magnitude quake—they just didn’t know when. A 2008 paper predicted a quake registering up to 7.2, but “it could have been the next day, it could have been 10 years, it...

10 Stories