Scientists discover new California quake fault that could burst dam and drown thousands

[AsahinaKimi]

Flood plane: The Martis Creek Dam, which could burst if the fault shifts

Polaris Fault could trigger 6.9-magnitude earthquake
Martis Creek Dam could burst if fault moves
Gambling city Reno, 33 miles away, is at risk of flood

A new earthquake-producing fault has been discovered in California - to the surprise of scientists who thought they had found all of the state’s seismic danger spots.

The Polaris line, at only 22 miles long, is a dwarf compared to the San Andreas Fault, which stretches 800 miles and has triggered some of the world’s biggest tremors.

But, worryingly, it could be powerful enough to cause an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale and flood a valley by smashing a dam.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2004293/New-quake-fault-discovery-California-burst-dam-drown-thousands.html

[Peregrine]

1. OMG, ban hydroelectric its too dangerous

nt

[SoCalDem]

2. Do we get to choose which "thousands"?

:evilgrin:

[necso]

3. Imo,

geomorphic evidence (and sometimes patterns of vegetation, where faults affect water flow) can point to faults, even where more accepted methods of identifying faults (fault-related stratigraphic discontinuities; other surface indicators; seismic testing) don't.

And sometimes, once you get a rough handle on formational events and tectonic patterns (as these change over time), you can look at existing fault maps and get some idea of where more faults (fault continuations) seem likely to be.

However, some faulting seems more related to formational events (which may or may not be ongoing (or "relic"), or may be of diminished power), some more to later/larger-scale tectonic patterns (formation and tectonics aren't unrelated; but tectonic patterns can change over time, so formational events may have been driven by older tectonic patterns that no longer exist -- or at least aren't as important now); and interplay between the two can complicate the picture.

...

Ships of stone
sailing earthen seas
on winds of time.