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Tectonic stress along the southern San Andreas and neighboring San Jacinto fault systems has reached its highest level in 1,000 years, significantly elevating the risk of a major earthquake in Southern California, according to a study published this month.
The peer-reviewed research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, warns that the two fault lines are so critically strained that a rupture on one could spill over into the other, potentially triggering a massive, multi-fault catastrophe, reports LiveScience on Wednesday.
The ‘Earthquake Gate’ scientists identified Cajon Pass, a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains, as a critical “earthquake gate.”…