Geological Interpretations

After visiting Southern California's Pacific Coast and its complex geological set up, I left informed and intrigued to learn more about what makes it so unique and complicated. I wrote down a few questions after my trip and would like to share them to the public.

1) According to the Earthquake Shaking Potential map provided by the California Department of Conservation, it is apparent that cities along the Pacific Coast, especially those along the San Andreas Fault Line, are under serious threat of to be hit with an earthquake. Knowing the threat they face, I would like to know more about how city developers, politicians, and construction companies work hand in hand to maximize development in crowded cities like Los Angeles and San Diego while keeping the city's residents safe. Earthquakes are inevitable in this region, so learning this information will aid me in understanding how areas susceptible to natural disasters prepare themselves to absorb the damages.

2) After checking out different rock structure along the Pacific Coast, I discovered that virtually every rock structure is constructed of sedimentary or marine sedimentary rocks. After discovering this, I immediately became interested in learning about the age, color, and types of rock structures along Mexico's Pacific Coast. I believe learning this information will give me an idea of how far of a range can be affected by seismic activity as well as the geological history of the two places. If there is any uniformity, I will be able to connect their histories and infer that these two regions were home to similar environments, vegetation, animals, and fossils.

3) My final question is over the frequent landslides that occur along the Pacific Coast. Landslides happen for multiple reasons such as the weathering of rocks, soil erosion, and seismic activity such as earthquakes. Since we already know that earthquakes are common in this area, I would like to know to what extent the ocean plays apart in the weathering and erosion of geological structures in the area. Along with that, I would like to know whether a majority of landslides are caused by weathering and erosion or seismic activity. Learning this information will help me understand certain geological effects of seismic activity outside of earthquakes and volcanoes while also informing me about how proximity to a large body of water effects and possibly speeds up erosion in this region.

Earthquake Shaking Potential, Source: California Department of Conservation