What does it take to map an earthquake fault?

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Podcasts Take Two

Nov 7, 2013

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What does it take to map an earthquake fault?

How do you map something you can't see? That's the question geologists are facing as they try to pin-point the location of a major earthquake fault in Hollywood.

John Parrish shows off a state map with 15,000 faults on it. He says there are likely many more faults that have not yet been discovered.

How do you map something you can't see? That's the question geologists are facing as they try to pin-point the location of a major earthquake fault in Hollywood.

The so-called Hollywood Fault has been in the news a lot recently.

t's at the center of a fight between a developer and local residents, who claim a pair of planned skyscrapers would sit directly atop the fault. It also figures into concerns over the potential risk of unreinforced concrete buildings in Hollywood.

Scientists have known about the fault for years, but it's never been officially mapped by the state.

As KPCC's Science Reporter Sanden Totten explains, such a map could shake up development plans in the area.