The San Andreas fault system could create the biggest earthquakes in the region-as big as magnitude 8-that would disrupt a wide-ranging area of the Central Valley. The San Andreas fault system is to the west, the Garlock fault is to the south and the faults of the Sierra Nevada are to the east. Earthquake shaking can begin suddenly, but have lasting impacts. Like all of California, the Central Valley, which is ringed by faults, is earthquake country. But, on average, a quake of magnitude 6 or larger is likely to hit somewhere in Southern California every few years. Many SoCal residents feel shaking from earthquakes a couple times a year, most mild or moderate with little damage and no injuries. Multiple aftershocks followed, and on the evening of July 5 th, another earthquake struck in the same area with a magnitude of 7.1.Ĭalifornia Geological Survey (CGS) and USGS, with National Guard and Navy personnel, view road damage associated with the magnitude 7.1 Ridgecrest event. On the morning of Thursday, July 4 th, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in the Mojave Desert near Searles Valley. More recently, the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes were California’s biggest in more than 20 years, and a USGS report suggested they involved as many as five fault zones, including the Owens Valley fault zone, Panamint Valley fault zone, Garlock fault zone, Blackwater fault zone, and San Andreas fault zone. This was caused primarily by the Northridge Blind Thrust fault, which triggered activity in several other faults. In 1994, the magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck near Northridge, killing 58 people, injuring more than 9,000 and causing more than $49 billion in economic loss. While the San Andreas is Southern California’s most well-known fault, earthquakes in the region also happen on other, smaller faults. In their most recent report, the USGS’s earthquake forecast predicted a 93% chance of a larger earthquake-aka one or more magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquakes-striking Southern California. It can cause powerful earthquakes-as big as magnitude 8. It slices through Los Angeles County along the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains. The San Andreas fault is California’s longest fault and the one that gets the most attention. When many people living in Southern California and, specifically, the Greater Los Angeles Area (Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and Ventura County), think about earthquake risk and earthquake probabilities, they think of the region’s proximity to the Southern San Andreas fault. Southern California earthquake probabilities
map shows how often scientists expect damaging earthquake shaking to occur (USGS, Public Domain). The national seismic hazard map shows how often scientists expect damaging earthquakes across the country. The information sums up the earthquake probabilities in the different regions of California. The earthquake probability calculator is based on the latest available information from seismic hazard data.Īlso, check out their National Hazard Maps. Many people ask, “what is the earthquake likelihood in my community?” The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has an online tool for determining the probability of a large earthquake within 31 miles of a specific location in the United States over a certain period of time. What is the earthquake likelihood at location X? While the probability of an earthquake in California is higher than most states, they do vary from region to region. The odds are good that if you live in California, you will experience an earthquake at some time. Scientists agree that there is more than a 99 percent chance of one or more major earthquakes striking California in the next 30 years.* No one in the Golden State is risk-free when it comes to earthquakes.
Most Californians live within 30 miles of an active fault.More than 500 of those faults are categorized as active.There are 15,700 known faults in California.
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