Why  is  California  prone  to  tsunamis??  By  Odessa  Ng,  Y08B  

Triggering  a  tsunami  

•  Local  sources  "   Caused  by  local  earthquakes  "   Large  submarine  landslides  

-­‐    

     

   

Tsunami  caused  by  landslide  

San  Andreas  Fault  

California  

   

•  Distant  sources  "   Little  time  of  warning  "   Example:  rockfall  at  Lituya  Bay,  Alaska  

   LOCAL    

 DISTANT  

Railroad  wreckage,  Alaska  

Pacific  Ring  of  Fire  

Examples  Local  sources  

Area   Factor   Reaching  California  in  a  matter  of…  

Oregon/Washington  Coast   Earthquakes   Less  than  an  hour  

Cascadia  Subduction  Zone   Earthquakes   Within  minutes  

Distant  sources  

Area   Factor   Reaching  California  in  a  matter  of…  

Effect  

Chile,  1964   9.5  Earthquake   14  hours  later   1.6  meter  wave  reaching  Santa  Monica  

Alaska,  1962   9.2  Earthquake   -­‐-­‐   6  m  tsunami,  flooding  low-­‐lying  places,  killed  11  people  

Top  10  Largest  Earthquakes  Ever  Recorded  

http://youtu.be/8pitAGlz5x0  

4  of  them  wrecks  California  

1964  Alaskan  Earthquake;  Magnitude:  9.2  

Magnitude:  9.0,  resulting  in    sea  level  fluctuation  of  22  cm  in  San  Diego  

THOUSANDS  OF  HOMES  DESTROYED