Satellite Images Show Large Fissure Caused by Powerful California Earthquake
The powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook Southern California Friday, just one day after a 6.4-magnitude tremor struck 122 miles northeast of Los Angeles, caused a fissure within the Little Lake fault zone in the state’s Indian Wells Valley area.
Satellite images taken by Earth imaging company Planet Labs Inc. and photos shared by California residents show the visible crack across the desert and Highway 178 on the outskirts of Trona in San Bernardino County.
Ridgecrest Earthquake before (4th July) & after (6th July) images from Doves, clearly showing surface rupture. Thx @rsimmon @PlanetLabs @USGS RT @USGSBigQuakes Prelim M7.1 Earthquake 35.767, -117.605 Jul-06 03:19 UTC, updates https://t.co/waWvmvQZ88 pic.twitter.com/cUNxdMazum
— Will Marshall (@Will4Planet) July 7, 2019
#Ridgecrest surface rupture gif with images from @planetlabs + @Will4Planet pic.twitter.com/nIsmWJt604
— Jacob Margolis (@JacobMargolis) July 7, 2019
Caltrans District 9 Maintenance crews make repairs to cracks along SR 178 near Trona within an hour after 6.4 quake in Ridgecrest #Caltrans8 @Caltrans9 @CA_Trans_Agency @CaltransHQ pic.twitter.com/FpryJoWVos
— Caltrans District 8 (@Caltrans8) July 4, 2019
“The earthquakes of the [July] 4th and 5th occurred in what we call a fault zone,” Glenn Biasi, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Pasadena, California, told Live Science.
Lots of people checking out the crack in the road from the #Ridgecrestquake this morning. Some folks had major damage to their houses, some just broke a few dishes. #ridgecrest #earthquake pic.twitter.com/r2JBM4KYhe
— Emily Guerin (@guerinemily) July 5, 2019
Most of it’s already been patched but not this part. pic.twitter.com/NX3ojGwx4A
— Emily Guerin (@guerinemily) July 5, 2019
According to the USGS, “a fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other. This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake – or may occur slowly, in the form of creep … During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other.”
TAKE A LOOK: Drone video shows crack in a California highway following an earthquake! pic.twitter.com/DNNIY13tP3
— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) July 7, 2019
A powerful magnitude 7.1 quake shook Southern California on Friday
A crack on Highway 178 is seen as construction workers fix a broken water line south of Trona, after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit in #RidgecrestEarthquake #California, on July 4. #TheNBA#JerryWest pic.twitter.com/gNpimfpdG2
— MaQsood (@PartTimeHuman2) July 6, 2019
Michele Cooke, a geoscientist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, told Live Science that the earthquake on July 4 showed “simultaneous slip on two perpendicular faults,” which is uncommon.
Giant cracks in the ground appear in Mojave Desert near the epicenter of California latest two major earthquakes
“Many of us are wondering if these complications are actually the norm and that our instruments 10+ years ago were not sensitive enough to pick up these complications,” Cooke told Live Science.
At least 159 aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 or greater were recorded after the first earthquake on July 4, Sputnik reported. However, despite the magnitude of both earthquakes, there were no reported deaths as a result. The quakes did, however, result in several gas leaks and fires in southern California.
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