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Science

The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles 8

Posted by michael from the waiting-for-the-big-one dept.
Dedekind writes: "I got this from cnn.com ... Not only do they have earthquakes non-stop, their city rises and falls with the seasons. Just another reason EAST SIDE is better. heh..."
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The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles More

The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles

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  • California under water (Score:2, Interesting)

    by O ( 90420 )
    I remember frequently hearing that California would eventually be covered with water. How long until this happens?
    • The plates in the fault system(s) around California are pretty much all horizontal and not vertical. See here [berkeley.edu]. So it won't fall into the ocean, but it might relocate parts of itself. I researched this a little, as earthquakes are one of the reasons I don't want to move to California (Aside from crazy people, mudslides, fires, high taxes, and now the market conditions.)

      I wondered if it was as bad as I thought. And in this case at least, the rumors aren't true.
      • We do indead have everything you mentioned, however there are a few thing to keep in mind.
        Shakers are very rare. Ones you can feel at least.
        All of those other natural disasters are fairly rare to but only effect high income areas so if you are one of the great unwashed masses you don't have to worry about them.

        Few people die as a result of these things.
        Compare the number of deaths from all these forces in CA during the last 10 years with that of just the number of people who died form just one of any of the following things people deal with on the east coast:
        blizards, frost, cold snaps, heat waves, floods (we loose a building but back east they loose towns), huricains, and tornados.

        You are far safer on the west coast than the east. When a natural disaster hits us we look around make sure everything is in check and get on with our lives. Back east they have to hunt down their roof but first have to travel a few miles or blocks to find their car.

        Here in San Diego the weather men joke about job security on the air. They could prerecord the forcasts a week in advance and no one would know.
        "early morning low clowds clear by noon, 72 the day high and 56 the evening low."
        Its like that all the time. Every day.

        The number one problem with living here is not desasters but cost of living.
  • This kinda makes you wonder about ground stabality in places with lots of Grond Water dirrectly underneath.


    • I went Mexico City quite a while ago and one of the many interesting things I saw were buildings that were sinking. There was one church whose entrance had sunk close to twenty feet below street level. It was explained to me that tapping the aquifer under the city had caused the land to settle as it became depleted and the heavier buildings were sinking. This was pre earthquake so who knows what the place looks like these days. Makes me wonder what's going to happen to So. Cal as the population continues to increase.

  • Well the fact that Los Angles rises and flalls with the seasons due to changes in the ground water table is not surprising. Mexico city has as far as I recall subcided more than 8 meters during the last 100 years due to excessive water pumping, which has lowered the ground water table quite considerable. Similar for the city of Venice (Italy) where the entire bay has subsided for the same reason (alhtough they seem to have learnt the lesson and have cut down on the water pumping).


    Yours Yazeran


    Plan: To go to Mars one day with a hammmer

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