San Andreas Fault 

San Andreas Fault (California, USA) – detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

The San Andreas Fault is the most famous rift in the earth’s surface. It became known to a wide range of people after the earthquake that actually destroyed San Francisco in 1906. Its location in densely populated California, in relative proximity to Los Angeles, also contributed to its popularity as a tourist destination. San Andreas arose at the junction of the Pacific and North American lithospheric plates. It is their border, originates in Mexico, “cuts” California from south to north, after 1280 km it goes under water near San Francisco.

The left and right parts of the fault diverge one to the north and the other to the south at a rate of 2-4 cm per year.

San Andreas looks like a ravine. The largest cracks in the earth’s crust are located in the Carrizo Plain (200 km north of Los Angeles). To get breathtaking photos, it’s better to take a drone with you – from a height, the scale of the fault is more striking. And the most striking manifestation of the “work” of San Andreas is the ancient volcano Ninah. It arose 23 million years ago, after which it was divided into two parts by a fault. For millions of years, the left half “drove off” 314 km north and is known today as the national monument “Pinnacles” 110 km south of San Jose (5000 Highway 146, Paicines, CA 95043).

Practical information

The closest section of the fault to Los Angeles is in the Wazkes Rocks Conservation Area to the northeast, 60 km from the City of Angels.

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