Salton Trough Fault: The New Fault Discovered Parallel To San Andreas Fault Line

The San Andreas fault line is considered one the most dangerous and the longest fault line in California and a new fault line was just identified parallel to it. The researchers named it Salton Trough Fault.

The new fault line was not detected earlier because there is difficulty imaging its location in the eastern Salton Sea and there are no small seismic events identified, according to Neal Driscoll, the principal investigator and a geologist at the University of California San Diego. The researchers also stated that the new fault line is really close to the southern section of the San Andreas fault line.

 It has been theorized that the new fault line is taking on some of the accumulating pressure in the area. This means that it is deterring some from the San Andreas fault and delaying the event of the next "big one," which refers to an earthquake that could kill many people and destroy properties, according to IFL Science.

The new fault line is located within the Salton Sea, west of the San Andreas Fault. It is reported that there were almost 200 small earthquakes that hit the area last week. This might trigger a large earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault. It is advised that the state should prepare for any occurrence of an earthquake.

According to Daily Mail, the researchers utilized instruments that include ocean-bottom seismometers, multi-channel seismic data, light detection or lidar to accurately map the deformation within the various sediment layers in and around the sea's bottom. Driscoll said that they employed the marine seismic equipment to define the deformation patterns under the sea that constrained the location of the fault.

The mapping of earthquake faults gives significant information for earthquake rupture and ground-shaking models. This could safeguard the lives of people and lessen the damages and loss of properties caused by these natural calamities. The discovery of the new fault line is essential and could help the researchers understand more the fault complex around San Andreas.