SAN ANDREAS FAULT Definition & Meaning

San Andreas Fault

[ san an-drey-uhs fawlt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Geology.

an active strike-slip fault in the western United States, extending from San Francisco to southern California and forming the on-land portion of the western margin of the North American Plate.

San Andreas Fault

A fault in California where the North American and the Pacific tectonic plates meet and slide past each other. ( See earthquake and plate tectonics .)

San Andreas Fault

A major geologic fault located in California . It runs from San Francisco to near San Diego and has been the source of serious earthquakes . ( See also under “Earth Sciences.” )

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Notes

A major earthquake along this fault has been predicted for many years. Because California is densely populated, such an event might have very serious consequences.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of San Andreas Fault¹

First recorded in 1900–05; named after San Andreas Lake, located in the rift, in San Mateo County

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In 1812, a powerful quake — today, estimated at a magnitude of 7.5 and believed to have been caused by the San Andreas Fault — shook Southern California and immediately destroyed seven missions.

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It’s all the result of millions of years of sediment flows, soil erosion and the endless clash of the San Andreas Fault’s two plates.

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The first one was based on a scenario of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the southern section of California’s mighty San Andreas Fault.

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The lake is situated atop the San Andreas Fault system, which creates substantial geothermal activity and an abundance of geothermal heat.

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It has been about three centuries since the last great earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault, the most treacherous seismic hazard in California.

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