Drones Eye View: The Power of the Forces that Shape the Earth

The San Andres Fault is one of the most spectacular geologic features on earth, being clearly visible from space. And from a drone. While most people are familiar with the earthquakes that are associated with the San Andres Fault and the potential "big one", you can get a close look at the fault see how it is shaping the landscape around us in Carrizo Plain of Central California. Here you can see the direct results of the movement along the fault by examining the offset along Wallace Creek. Over the past 3,800 years the creek, which flows perpendicular to the fault, has been offset by over 400 feet due to the repeated movement along the fault. While on average the movement along the fault is about 1.5 inches per year, the movement isn't continuous. It's episodic and often catastrophic. In 1858 the estimated 7.9 magnitude Tejon Earthquake resulted in nearly 24 feet of lateral movement. Around 1600 an even larger quake resulted in movement of over 40 feet. In comparison the 1989 San Francisco Quake was a magnitude 6.9. What is key is that the scale is logarithmic...thus the 7.9 quake was 10x as strong as the San Francisco Quake. The spectacular offset along Wallace Creek shows the power of the forces that are shaping the earth around us, and foreshadows what we know is to come.