Earthquake Country

Parkfield, California
June 27, 2004

Bridge over the Little Cholame Creek

There is an interesting sign at the bridge over the Little Cholame Creek as you enter Parkfield from the south. It simply says "San Andreas Fault - Now Entering North American Plate", but it loudly says you are in earthquake country. The San Andreas Fault, however, is not a thin line on the ground where you can step from the Pacific Plate onto the North American Plate in a single bound. The fault is a zone of crushed and broken rock between the plates that can be from a few hundred feet in width to over a mile.

Nonetheless, this sign gave me an opportunity to get out of the car, walk around, and realize that I was in a narrow zone where one part of California is sliding to the north away from the rest of California in ever a slow manner. And where I started the day on the Pacific Plate, I would end the day on the North American Plate.