Salton Sea Fault line in California Discovered

Last week, nearly 200 small earthquakes known as ‘swarm’ shook Southern California in the vicinity of the Salton Sea. This area lies right next to San Andreas fault line. Hence, giving people a reason to worry that the ‘Big One’ is coming.

Scientists from the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Nevada, Reno conducted a joint research study. They confirmed that they mapped a new fault line that lies at the eastern edge of Salton Area. They named this fissure ‘Salton Trough Fault’.

But, Valerie Sahakian, US Geological Survey Researcher and the Lead Author of the study clarified that ‘Salton Trough Fault’, quake swarms and the timing of the announcement had no connection.

Increased risk of bigger earthquakes

Swarms momentarily raised the possibility of larger earthquakes. The largest quake swarms recorded came up to magnitude 4.3, as per US Geological Survey Officials. They said that the swarm raised the possibilities of a larger earthquake occurring.

However things went back to normal on Tuesday. Researchers said in the last thousand years, tremors of magnitude 7 plagued the southern portion of San Andreas fault. These quakes occur every 175 to 200 years and the last one happened more than 300 years ago.

Sahakian said “Things like locations of the fault and expected magnitude at the fault are what’s used to predict the maximum ground shaking a region can expect,”

Scientists said, they need to conduct more study to identify the fault’s full length and exact location. This gives them a chance to better measure earthquake danger.

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