The Martis Creek Dam is just outside of the town of Truckee California with a population of 16,000 people, but it is also upstream about 35 miles from Reno, Nevada the gambling town with a population of around 220,000. A newly discovered fault that crosses under the dam could potentially produce a 6.9 magnitude earthquake and potentially cause a failure of the structure. The fault was discovered from aerial LIDAR imagery analysis and confirmed and dated with paleoseismic trenching work done along various glacial terraces. [Source: Mail Online via AGC SmartBrief. Image: USACE via Mail Online]
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New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes
Released: 4/14/2008 12:02:15 PM
California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.
The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state.
[Editor] At Left: Figure 1. The colors on this California map represent the UCERF probabilities of having a nearby earthquake rupture (within 3 or 4 miles) of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the next 30 years. As shown in the table, the chance of having such an event somewhere in California exceeds 99%. The 30-year probability of an even more powerful quake of magnitude 7.5 or larger is about 46%. [/Editor]