Active San Andreas Fault Threatens California Infrastructure

NEW CUYAMA, CA - MARCH 28: In an aerial view from a drone, the San Andreas Fault and Elkhorn Scarp are seen south of Carrizo Plain on March 28, 2021 north of New Cuyama, California. The San Andreas Fault, long feared for its potential to cause the biggest natural disaster ever in Southern California, is capable of producing and 8.1-magnitude earthquake that could killed thousands of people and cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. The southern segment of the fault, extending for hundreds of miles from the Salton Sea in the south, passes as close as 35 miles from Los Angeles, through the Big Bend section in Kern County and on to Parkfield in Monterey County. It is the Big Bend section of the fault that is believed to have become locked, preventing the fault from slipping to release the ever-increasing pressures caused by the grinding of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. The locked fault is rapidly increasing the risk of the long overdue "Big One" quake that scientists say is inevitable. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)