We knew this would get your attention! We are asked this more times than we can count on our San Andreas Fault Tour. IT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE! The ocean is not a great hole into which California can fall, but it is itself land at a somewhat lower elevation with water above it. It’s absolutely impossible that California will be swept out to sea. Instead, southwestern California is moving ever so slowly (about 2 inches per year) towards Alaska as it slides past central and eastern California. 15 million years (and many earthquakes) from now, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be next-door neighbors!

Another popular cinematic and literary device is a fault that opens during an earthquake to swallow up an inconvenient character. But unfortunately for principled writers, gaping faults exist only in movies and novels. The ground moves parallel to a fault during an earthquake, not away from it. If the fault could open, there would be no friction. Without friction, there would be no earthquake. Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not gape open during an earthquake!

So when you see the next big disaster film, rest assured that movies are just entertainment. Enjoy them! And then go on our fault tour and learn about the real-world science. The photos below are of the San Andreas Fault and were taken by guests on our tour.