Friends back in my native Texas, in the East Texas Piney Woods, experienced a 4.3 earthquake a few days ago. They were rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’, and there were no Beatles involved. I read reports of fallen pictures and things knocked from shelves. Out here, of course, most of us would never suffer that kind of damage from a 4.3 earthquake. Pictures are hung with earthquake hangars and things we don’t want knocked from shelves in minor earthquakes are appropriately attached to the shelves with earthquake goop or earthquake tape.
I have always been fascinated by earthquake faults. I wrote my first term paper on earthquakes in 1969. I was 13 and wrote it for a customer of my typing/research enterprise. He was a sophomore at Texas A&I University, and he (I) got a B+ on that paper!
Television documentaries showing a helicopter flying over a fault zone, usually the San Andreas Fault somewhere in remote California, would enthrall me.
Right here in urban San Diego is the Rose Canyon Fault:
Seismic experts say the Rose Canyon Fault has the potential to unleash a 7.5 earthquake. As you can see on the map, the Rose Canyon Fault goes right underneath downtown San Diego. When that 7.5 earthquake happens, I’m sure it will be considered “the big one” as far as San Diegans are concerned.
If you know where to go, you can actually see the Rose Canyon Fault on the ground surface.
Using the descriptions in the picture above, here is the “50 million year old Eocene sandstone of the Scripps Formation”:
Notice the houses, too, built right on top of that sandstone formation. Their foundation pillars probably go pretty deep.
On the other side of the canyon is the “half-million year old Pleistocene conglomerate,” which the pine trees seem to like.
In between the two formations is “a major strand of the Rose Canyon Fault”:
Considering the location of the baseball field, I guess it was built by some parents with unruly children.
Specific location:
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Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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