CHAPTER.2- GEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

One of the "recent" landform processes that helped shape North America is earthquakes. Earthquakes are a part of life in Los Angeles, effecting the way our buildings are roads are built, as well as the safety education we aquire in school. The largest fault that effects Los Angeles is the San Andreas Fault, which runs over 800 miles through california. Although the fault doesn't actually run through L.A, the power of one of the earthquakes it produces has the potential to shake L.A. like never before. Below is a list of significant earthquakes to hit the Los Angeles area:

YEAR MN DY HRMINSEC  LATITUTE  LONGITUDE MAG   DEPTH        NAME
---- -- -- --------  --------  --------- ------ -----  ---------------

1920                                     ml=4.9
1930                                     ml=5.2
1933  3 11 015407.80 33 37.00 -117 58.00 mw=6.4  0.00 Long Beach
1938  5 31 083455.41 33 41.93 -117 30.64 ml=5.2 10.00  
1941 10 22 065718.50 33 49.00 -118 13.00 ml=4.8  0.00  
1941 11 14 084136.30 33 47.00 -118 15.00 ml=4.8  0.00 
1952  8 23 100907.15 34 31.16 -118 11.89    5.2 13.10  
1969 10 24 082912.11 33 17.46 -119 11.56    5.1 10.00  
1970  9 12 143052.98 34 16.19 -117 32.40 ml=5.2  8.00 Lytle Creek
1971  2  9 140041.83 34 24.67 -118 24.04 mw=6.7  8.40 San Fernando (Sylmar)
1973  2 21 144557.30 34  3.89 -119  2.10 ml=5.9  8.00 Point Mugu
1979  1  1 231438.94 33 56.66 -118 40.88 ml=5.2 11.28 Malibu
1981  9  4 155050.13 33 39.09 -119  5.58 mw=6.0  6.00 Santa Barbara Island
1987 10  1 144220.02 34  3.68 -118  4.71 ml=5.9  9.53 Whittier Narrows
1988 12  3 113826.44 34  9.06 -118  7.81 ml=5.0 14.27 Pasadena
1989  1 19 065328.84 33 55.12 -118 37.65 ml=5.0 11.86 Malibu
1990  2 28 234336.75 34  8.62 -117 41.84 ml=5.3  4.49 Upland
1991  6 28 144354.66 34 16.19 -117 59.58 mw=5.8  9.15 Sierra Madre
1994  1 17 123055.39 34 12.80 -118 32.22 mw=6.7 18.40 Northridge

SOURCE: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/sca/la_eqs.php