Earthquakes: Los Angeles faces greater threat from San Andreas Fault

The recent earthquakes that have rocked California may have been caused by the Southern California Fault, which is considered more dangerous than the San Andreas Fault.

A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Los Angeles on Monday, just one week after a 5.2-magnitude quake struck near Bakersfield.

Although neither caused major damage, experts warned that Monday's quake may be linked to the Puente Hills fault, which could one day cause a major earthquake in Los Angeles.

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All of these earthquakes are located within close proximity of each other in three dimensions, directly below the main center of Bounty Hills. [fault] “They're all tied to the same set of small events,” James Dolan, a professor of geosciences at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times.

Main image, map of Los Angeles. Attached image, shows earthquake tremors. The Puente Hills fault system may be more dangerous to Los Angeles than the San Andreas fault. Main image, map of Los Angeles. Attached image, shows earthquake tremors. The Puente Hills fault system may be more dangerous to Los Angeles than the San Andreas fault. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

“But the important thing is that these events are very small. They are very small earthquakes and they don’t necessarily mean anything in terms of being a harbinger of a future large earthquake in the Ponte Hills.”

The Puente Hills Fault is a significant geological fault system located in Southern California, extending approximately 25 miles beneath the Los Angeles Basin, including areas such as Downtown Los Angeles, Whittier, and Puente Hills.

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The Bounty Hills Fault is a blind fault, which occurs when one part of the Earth's crust is pushed up over another part, usually due to compressive forces. The term “blind” means that the fault does not reach the surface, making it invisible at ground level and difficult to detect without specialized equipment.

Monday’s quake struck at a depth of about 7.5 miles along a fault line that runs just a few hundred feet. Smaller quakes have struck the same area recently, with magnitude 3.4 and 2.8 quakes recorded in early June, followed by a magnitude 2.9 quake a few weeks later.

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Earthquakes on the Puente Hills Fault can be particularly dangerous because the shaking will occur directly beneath Los Angeles's surface infrastructure, potentially causing significant damage. The Puente Hills Fault is estimated to be capable of generating earthquakes up to magnitude 7.5.

The famous San Andreas Fault runs about 750 miles from the Salton Sea in Southern California to Cape Mendocino in Northern California. It runs relatively close to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other major cities, but it does not run as close to major population centers as the Puente Hills Fault.

So, while the San Andreas Fault can generate more powerful earthquakes — up to around 8.0 or even higher — the location of the Puente Hills Fault makes it a major hazard.

File photo of a crack in the ground caused by an earthquake. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Bounty Hills Fault could kill up to 18,000 people. File photo of a crack in the ground caused by an earthquake. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Bounty Hills Fault could kill up to 18,000 people. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

“It's a reminder that this is actually our most dangerous fault,” seismologist Lucy Jones told the Los Angeles Times.

The USGS estimates that a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the San Andreas Fault could kill about 1,800 people, while a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on the Puente Hills Fault could kill up to 18,000 people and cost up to $252 billion.

The Puente Hills Fault has never had a major earthquake in recorded history, although geologists believe it may have one every few thousand years. The San Andreas Fault, on the other hand, has had a major earthquake every few hundred years, with the last one occurring in 1857, thought to have had a magnitude of about 7.8.

However, even smaller earthquakes on the Bounty Hills Fault can be extremely destructive: a 5.9 magnitude quake on the fault in 1987 killed eight people and caused more than $350 million in damage.

“People really need to be prepared for a very large earthquake or multiple earthquakes in the future in Los Angeles,” Dolan said. “It’s inevitable. We don’t know when it’s going to happen. We don’t know exactly which fault is going to cause these earthquakes, but they’re going to happen.”

Do you have a science story tip that Newsweek should cover? Have a question about earthquakes? Let us know at [email protected].

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