Earthquakes are dangerous, but have you ever thought about what are the biggest fault lines in the world? As you may or may not know, the crust of the earth is constantly moving and reshaping itself.
Faults are fractures in Earth’s crust where rocks on either side of the crack have slid past each other. Did you know that the San Andreas Fault system is so huge that it is divided into segments. The fault line is estimated to be at least 1300 km long and is a large fault line that affects most of California. Many people who live near California’s San Andreas Fault anticipate the “big one,” a massive earthquake that could leave behind severe and long-lasting devastation. Another one is The Gulf of California Rift Zone is located at the southern tip of the San Andreas Fault and extends another 1300 km. It reaches well into the area of Mexico. There are three main types of fault, all of which may cause an interplate earthquake. Strike-slip fault is a strike slip fault occurs in an area where two plates are sliding past each other. In relation to the ground surface the slip involves sideway movement. Each describes a different kind of relative motion. All faults are related to the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates. The biggest faults mark the boundary between two plates. Most earthquakes strike less than 50 miles below the Earth’s surface. Normal faults cracks where one mass of rock slides downward and pulls away from another mass of rock. As these plates are slowly splitting apart and pulling away from each other the normal faults are formed in this way. Normal faults are associated with downward movement on a sloping fault as the two plates move apart. The focus of an earthquake is where pressure builds along a fault line which fails deep underneath the crust of the Earth. The relationship between earthquakes and faults was first established in the middle of the 19th century.
If you want to see what are the biggest fault lines in the world, check Insider Monkey’s list of 11 Biggest Fault Lines in the World and find out more amazing things about this topic.
