The cracks of the planet. Dangerous Faults and Rifts of Earth Crust

Tectonic plates that are in a continuous movement are directly involved in a conceptual design of our planet. The movement of two particles relative to one another and even a small anomaly can cause serious catastrophe, such as earthquake, tsunami, volcano erection or swamping of islands. Serious earth' breakups began to study by scientists not so far. Until now it is quite hard to say where the next catastrophe of tectonism will be. The largest rifts are under an everyday control but there are a lot of dangerous tectonic breakups about scientists know nothing.

San Andreas Fault is one of the most famous in the world. The great part of it goes on the surface. Mostly it is situated at the territory of California and some part lies along the seaside. San Andreas Fault extends roughly 1,300 kilometres. The rift has formed as a result of the lithospheric Farallon Plate destruction. This gigantic fault became a reason for crucial earthquakes, which magnitude was estimated at 8,1.

The strong earthquake was in San Francisco in 1906. The last major earthquake Loma Prieta was in 1989. The ground displacement in 7 meters was stated in the area of the fault. For last hundred years of numerous earthquakes, Santa Cruz city was drastically damaged, because of close ground location to San Francisco. In 1989 there was ruined more than 18 000 houses and 62 people died from the storm.

San Andreas Fault is the most dangerous in the world. The scientists claim that it can lead to a global catastrophe that will become a reason for a civilization destruction. Notwithstanding the destructive power of earthquakes, they help the fault to relieve the accumulated pressure and prevent a global disaster. It is quite hard to foresee the next earthquake. Not so far, the scientists begin to monitor the plates movements with GPS- coordinates. Today the most earthquake-prone area of the fault is the place near Los Angeles. This area didn’t have earthquakes for a long period of time and a new quake can be rather powerful. Next - Pacific Ring of Fire

Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia

Recently the researchers stated that Pacific Ring of Fire is a really a huge tectonic fault. This unique area is located all around the Pacific Ocean. There you can find 328 volcanoes of 540 presented on the Earth. The volcanic chain goes through a lot of countries. One of the most earthquake-prone places is located in Indonesia. Complete article

Baikal Rift, Russia

The bottom of the largest in the world Lake Baikal is also a big tectonic rift. Shores of the lake are regularly moving and becoming wider. The scientists say that such transformations are a good example of a birth of a new ocean. However, this transformation will take hundreds of millions of years. The volcano activity near Lake Baikal is very high. Every day there register no less than five earth shocks. Tsaganskay earthquake of 1862 is one of the most known earthquakes in the world. Complete article

Giant rifts in Iceland, Iceland

Last years the researchers keep a close eye to the Iceland volcanoes. Earlier their power and dangerousness were underestimated. On the territory of the island, you can see several faults of the earth that has appeared after the movements of Eurasia and North American tectonic plates. The plates go from each other year by year for 7 mm. At the first glance, it seems not so crucial. However, for the last 10 000 years, the fault became bigger for 70 meters. If we put together these measures with the Earth age, these changes are drastically big. Complete article

Canyon Psaho, Russia

In Russia, there are also several places with dangerous faults. One of them is situated in Sochi National Park. Canyon Psaho is a real tectonic fault. The great canyon is divided on two - a dry and a wet. On the bottom of the wet canyon goes a river and a dry part doesn't have streams and rivers. The dry canyon is 200 meters, it was founded more than 70 million years ago at the time of the strong earthquake. Complete article

The Great African Rift, Ethiopia

The Great African Rift is a unique geological object. Its fault is one of the most mysterious in the world. The rift is very big and it continues to grow. A lot of scientists claim that the present eastern part of Africa in the nearest future will become a separate island. When this happens, the planet will receive one new separate land. Complete article

Rift in Gramalot, Colombia

Gramalot city became known beyond Columbia thanks to a mysterious fault. In December 2010 the city began to move and in the earth has appeared large rifts. Hundreds of houses and roads were destroyed. At first, local mass media explained these changes as a reason for strong winds. However, this theory had no science approves. We still don't know what was the real reason for the city destruction. Complete article

Huacullani rift, Peru

In Peru, you can find Huacullani rift that was named as the nearby area. The fault is situated not far from the world known Lake Titicaca. Geologists were shocked when they knew about this 3 000-meter rift. The seismologic phenomenon that has happened there is quite mysterious. At once the earth has divided and a huge fault appeared. Complete article

Rift in Michigan, USA

In Birch Creek, Michigan has also appeared a mysterious fault which length is 180 meters and depth 1.2 meters. It has formed on a flat terrain where for a long time was a forest. Nature there looks quite unusual. It seems that the earth under the ground has flied up, that’s why the trees from the right side and the left side are bent on different sides for about 30 degrees. Complete article

Rift in Shigi, Pakistan

The rift in Shigi is another large earth' break up that has formed in Pakistan. This region has quite a small population that’s why mass media didn’t pay attention to the geological anomaly. The video was downloaded to a popular international website. Only after that, the world knew about this accident. Complete article