[TommyDale]

Back in 1989, the Loma Prieta Earchquake caused the San Andreas to move some 30 feet on the Southern end, and only 6 feet on the Northern end. That energy has to go somewhere, some time. It will be like a slingshot.

[muffaletaman]

Back in 1989, the Loma Prieta Earchquake caused the San Andreas to move some 30 feet on the Southern end, and only 6 feet on the Northern end. That energy has to go somewhere, some time. It will be like a slingshot.

Your information is a little off. According to the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory website on the earthquake, "The average strike-slip displacement was 1.2 meters while the average reverse-slip displacement was 1.6 meters." 4.3 feet and 6.2 feet respectively.

Also this was probably NOT a San Andreas quake: "This type of motion is not typical of the San Andreas fault and suggests that the earthquake occurred on a sub-parallel fault and not on the San Andreas itself. Consequently, the potential for a damaging earthquake on the San Andreas in the Santa Cruz mountains may still exist."

So the future is definitely going to bring a H U G E earthquake into the SoCal's future, and the idea that it is within 50 years or so (250 years since, and a 200 to 300 year repeat cycle) means it is within "our" lifetime.

Websites on Loma Prieta are:

http://seismo.berkeley.edu/seismo/faq/1989_0.html

http://www.es.ucsc.edu/~es10/fieldtripEarthQ/Location1.html