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To: cogitator
What sort of Earth Scientist are you? Weren't you aware that the San Andreas Fault ends north of the Mexican border? That's because there is a triple junction there, with a subduction zone paralleling the Mexican mainland along its west coast, and a weak oceanic ridge / spreading center down the middle of the Sea of Cortez. In fact Baja is quite stable, with little tectonic activity of note with the exception of the extreme northern portion. Most of Baja is eroding into the sea and within a couple of million years will be a flatish area not unlike the east coast of the US (at least geologically speaking). It is becoming a stable margin.
136 posted on 04/04/2002 3:26:49 PM PST by GOP_1900AD
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To: belmont_mark
What sort of Earth Scientist are you? Weren't you aware that the San Andreas Fault ends north of the Mexican border?

I'm not an earth scientist. My reply to LeGrande was quite casual and non-specific. Saying "the San Andreas Fault is in your backyard" isn't equivalent to providing an exact location. I was actually thinking of the spreading center in the Sea of Cortez as part of the San Andreas system, so if it meets the San Andreas at the triple junction that's what I was thinking.

I also thought that Baja was somewhat earthquake-prone, but your reply indicates that's not the case. I was thinking of some of the earthquakes that occur in the El Centro vicinity (my father used to go to El Centro for business).

I even remember seeing a picture similar to the one on this page:

The Imperial Valley Earthquake of October 15, 1979

That's because there is a triple junction there, with a subduction zone paralleling the Mexican mainland along its west coast,

That's the subduction zone I was thinking about.

and a weak oceanic ridge / spreading center down the middle of the Sea of Cortez. In fact Baja is quite stable, with little tectonic activity of note with the exception of the extreme northern portion. Most of Baja is eroding into the sea and within a couple of million years will be a flatish area not unlike the east coast of the US (at least geologically speaking). It is becoming a stable margin.

That does adjust my idea that Baja California wouldn't be a good place to measure sea level rise due to tectonic activity. I had thought that it was an extension of the basin and range province in California, and it's obviously a different geological setting. Thanks for the correction.

140 posted on 04/05/2002 6:33:02 AM PST by cogitator
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