California Earthquake Research Paper

Unlike the East coast, the natural disaster that is most common in the West coast is earthquakes. As common as earthquakes are, there are only so much we know about the elements involved; such as fault lines. The topics discussed are what and where earthquakes occur, its history, and earthquake preparation in California.
Earthquakes are known worldwide as a shaking of the ground. However, this just how people see the phenomenon where destruction follows. According to Christopher Scholz and his two colleagues, “The sudden movement of the Earth caused by the abrupt release of accumulated strain along a fault in the interior,” meaning an earthquake is the sudden movement along a fault line, which is where tectonic plates meet. When the plates shift this causes the Earth to shake but when the plates become unrestrained large earthquakes occur. The earthquake is not something that happens in one moment, it is a gradual buildup of pressure in one area that when released can cause large …show more content…
Earthquakes in the state of California occur almost on a daily basis; these earthquakes are often not felt because of its low magnitude, but it is still recorded. However, Californians have experienced destructive earthquakes dating back to January 9, 1857 (Morrison). This earthquake occurred in Fort Tejon with a magnitude of 7.9 (Morrison). The damage, however, was not as devastating due to the minimal houses that were built in that area. In 1906, an earthquake so catastrophic that till today it remains one of the most significant earthquakes in the history of the United States, occurred in one of California’s prominent cities, San Francisco. Striking early in the morning, the "Great Quake" of 1906 left more than 80 percent of the city damaged from the quake itself and from fires (Morrison). In the recent years, California has not experienced any fatal shakes, but residents are always urged to be