Lithosphere Hazard Map Set: Earthquakes

Earthquakes within Los Angles (Local)

Caption
Earthquakes results from the movement of tectonic plates causing man-made structures
along with nature itself to shake. Earthquakes are commonly measured using the Richter scale of
one to ten to determine the severity of the quake with each rising number being ten times the
destructive force than the previous number. As seen on the map, it shows about six earthquakes
from 1900 to 2014 within the Los Angeles area. These earthquakes like the other ones
surrounding California indicated by the blue circles are because of the San Andreas Fault. The
San Andreas Fault has been inactive for many years now and it is overdue for a very large
earthquake so residents have to be on alert because it can occur anytime.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-andreas-fault-earthquake-20160504-story.html

Earthquakes within California (Regional)

Caption
This regional map of California shows numerous earthquakes throughout Southern
California. As explained in the caption before, the San Andreas Fault is located throughout
Southern California and because of this it is not uncommon to see minor earthquakes occurring
occasionally due to the transform movement of the tectonic plates. In 1994, a 6.7 magnitude
earthquake struck near Northridge at the San Fernando Valley causing lots of destruction within
the community. The estimated total damages was over $20 billion forcing the California
government to enact new laws for insurance companies to offer earthquake coverage plans to
homeowners. Possible solutions for people living in California that owns a house would be to
purchase earthquake insurance coverage plans.
http://www.history.com/topics/1994-northridge-earthquake

Earthquakes within U.S. (Global)

Caption
This map clearly shows that the majority of earthquakes happening in the U.S. occur near
the West Coast. This is because the West Coast is near a Pacific plate that is converging towards
it whereas the East coast has a divergent plate boundary. Because of this, new sea floor is being
created neat the East Coast as sea floor spreading occurs while the old rocks near the Pacific are
forced into subduction zones within the continent therefore recycling them in a way. According
to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews, he says that a complex plate boundary runs
between the floor of the Pacific Ocean and the North American continent. This boundary runs
roughly parallel to the coast, but doesnt follow it exactly. A possible solution for U.S. citizens
trying to avoid the possibility of earthquake disaster would be to move towards the East Coast.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/why-the-eastern-us-has-fewer-e/509496