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Blue Dot 120: The Great San Francisco Earthquake

In this episode we look back at what was once known as, "The Great San Francisco Earthquake." But it isn't the famous disaster from 1906. On October 21 an estimated magnitude 6.8 temblor rocked the Bay Area when the Hayward Fault ruptured. Dubbed "the most dangerous fault in America," by seismologists, the tectonic boundary is an extension of the more famous San Andreas Fault and passes below the densely populated East Bay from Fremont through Hayward, Oakland and Berkeley before ending in San Pablo Bay.

Dave talks to USGS seismologist Thomas Brocher, whose scientific detective work led to a better understanding of the seismic threat to the Bay Area. Finally, Dave visits with Ken Hudnut from the USGS Pasadena office about takeaways from the tragic quake and Tsunami in Indonesia.   

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.