San Andreas Fault In California

California is home to many great landmarks and tourist attractions, Disneyland, Universal Studios, many great sports teams like the Lakers and The 49ers, the Golden Gate bridge, and Alcatraz. However, one of the biggest states in the country is in danger of mass destruction from a huge crack in the ground called the San Andreas Fault. What is the science behind this fault? why should people fear it? and what could be the result of another devastating earthquake?
The San Andreas Fault is a place where two massive tectonic plates, specifically the North American and Pacific plates. The small split in the ground extends more than 800 miles and is roughly ten miles deep. The SAF is located in Northern California, and extends to Cajon Pass in the San Bernardino Mountains. The SAF was formed around fifteen to twenty million years ago. the fault, classified as a Right Lateral Strike-Slip fault, was formed when the North American and Pacific plates came into contact with each other. When this happened, what is now known as the San Andreas Fault came into existence. Thousands of small earthquakes occur along this fault every year, however it is not uncommon for there to be massive earthquakes accompanied by this fault. For example, the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 which devastated most of the buildings and roads in Southern California, was a victim of
Fradkin, is a book about the fault located in Southern California called the San Andreas Fault. The book entails many stories about earthquakes, some fatal, others miniscule. Not only does he happen to live in Southern California, his house is right next to the fault; so he has multiple first hand experiences with the fault. This book is relevant to my question because the stories talk about how the ground would shake when these happened, how the cars would bounce off the road, how buildings would shake, how bridges would collapse, and many more terrifying events during these