#San andreas fault drivers#

The first quake had a magnitude of 3.8, while the second quake, only 31 seconds later, had a magnitude of 4.9. Seismogram showing the two Mendocino Triple Junction area quakes from Sunday, October 26th. Along the fault line, the Pacific Plate slides horizontally in a northnorthwesterly direction with respect to North America (see blog October 17, 2008). It is one of the few places in the world where three of the gigantic plates which continuously drift on the Earth's mantle meet.ДЄlong the length of most of California, the San Andreas Fault defines the boundary between the Pacific Plate to the west and the North American Plate to the east.

This tectonic three-way intersection is called the Mendocino Triple Junction.

#San andreas fault drivers#

There upheaval is caused not by impatient drivers but by tectonic plates, which are crashing into each other with unstoppable momentum. Something very similar is happening every day in the Earth's crust under Cape Mendocino. It takes only a few irresponsible drivers who don't want to wait their turn and traffic jams and accidents are likely to occur. Imagine a busy intersection with a three-way stop sign at rush hour. The foci of both temblors are located within the 'Mendocino Triple Junction,' where three tectonic plates and several fault lines meet. The second quake was felt widely along the coast from Fort Bragg in the south almost to Crescent City in the north. With a magnitude of 4.9, the second quake was considerably stronger and happened virtually in the same spot (yellow dot on the map) 31 seconds later. It was located off-shore, about 35 miles southwest of Eureka. The first temblor, with a magnitude of 3.8, occurred at half past two early Sunday morning, October 26th. Within just half a minute of each other, two earthquakes shook the northern coastal region of the state.