Why Does California Have So Many Earthquakes?

Anyone who has visited California in the U.S will tell you what a beautiful state it is. But did you know that it is one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world? Why Does California Have So Many Earthquakes?

This is because a series of cracks in the Earth’s crust run parallel to its coast. These cracks are called faults, and they are places where the slabs that make up the Earth’s crust, called the tectonic plates, rub alongside each other.

The tectonic plates move continuously, and this movement causes tremors along the fault lines. One of the most famous lines is the San Andreas Fault, which slices through California. This is the reason why there have been many earthquakes in this region.

The most devastating earthquake that struck California occurred in San Francisco in 1906 It lasted less than a minute, but in that minute, it damaged buildings and structures in all parts of the city and the country of San Francisco.

Most chimneys were toppled or were badly broken. In the business district, pavements buckled and were arched and fissured. Brick or frame houses of ordinary construction were damaged extensively or destroyed, sewers or water mains were broken, and streetcar tracks were bent into wavelike forms.

The earthquake and resulting fires caused an estimated 3,000 deaths and $524 million in property loss.

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You can track the latest earthquakes in United States on USGS website.

Hope you got the answer to ‘Why Does California Have So Many Earthquakes?’

Here is a YouTube channel CaSeismograph which broadcast Live California Earthquake News