Earthquakes

Earthquakes

Coalinga Earthquake!
On May 2nd 1985 at approximately 4:22 pm PDT in Coalinga, CA there was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. The quake was felt from LA to Susanville and the Pacific Coast to western Nevada.   The quake caused more than $30 million worth of damage and forced the city to rebuild a 12 block section of the downtown plaza.   The nearby oil fields were shut down for quite some time due to the damage the quake caused.   Out of the 139 buildings in the commercial district, there were at least 59 either heavily damaged or collapsed.   The most damage occurred to the pre- 1930 that were made of unreinforced brick.   The floors and roofs of these buildings were made of wood.   The private residences right outside of town were the most heavily damaged and there were 800+ single- family houses destroyed.   Most of the buildings in Coalinga were made of unreinforced adobe construction.   More than 2 years after the quake there was aftershocks.   The highest recorded aftershock after that quake



was a 5.7 magnitude.   Coalinga received about 64 cm of reverse and about 20 cm of right lateral displacement along the 3.3 km long Nunez Fault.   The fault is located about 12 km NW of Coalinga.  

Earthquake Information
Earthquakes happen when the pressure between 2 tectonic plates is so intense that the plates shift their positions so suddenly that the earth begins to shake.   The longest quake ever recorded lasted 4 hours and occurred in Alaska on March 27, 1964.   When earthquakes happen cracks can appear in the ground and it can appear to move as waves.   Quakes are usually measured with a Richter scale.   For every quake there can be many intensities but only 1 Richter magnitude.   Intensity is purely descriptive and cannot be measured by machine.   The epicenter


of an earthquake is the center of the quake.   Earthquakes can move very fast in rock but they move slowly through sand and mud.   The focus is where the earthquake begins.
Earthquake Safety
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