California's Creep-iest Fault

The Hayward Fault is California's most dangerous, and also its creepiest. But that's because it creeps along at a constant rate of 5 mm/yr in between major earthquakes!

The Hayward Fault is the second largest fault in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it stretches over 110 kilometers through the densely populated East Bay region. Because of the dense population and amount of critical infrastructure surrounding it, the Hayward Fault is probably the most dangerous in the country as well. The hazard is not what brought me to Fremont's Central Park though. This park displays some of the best examples of active fault aseismic creep - fault motion without earthquakes - anywhere on the continent. The fault has cut through and offset streets, sidewalks, and buildings all along its length and these are famously and best shown on the patio of the Fremont Community Center.

NOTE: The community center building was closed when we went, but if you are able to visit the inside there is a great exhibit about aseismic creep and earthquake science which features the huge cracks in the building's foundation!

[bonnieking]

Great factual video. Your presentation is not boring at all, very interesting and your delivery is wonderful.

[IStoreGas]

Just found out the Hayward fault runs parallel to my street and its located directly beneath the front lawn of my neighbors across the street. And half of my house is on a hill with stilts. Really should’ve looked that up before i bought

[Tuckerpig]

Alright now this is one of the better videos I have seen on YouTube in a very long time. I am glad I discovered your channel. Thank you for producing this.

[lh]

I grew up there, the fault was literally in our backyard. That 1989 earthquake was intense.

[DonMachado]

That was very interesting! Being a born and raised in California it's always captivating to see what is going on with the various faults and anomalies around the state. Like the Niland Geyser or The Devil's Postpile, it's all fascinating to me. Thanks for the presentation!

[angeldee]

Thank you Andrew! Terrific, informative video about our state. Appreciate this 👍

[CzechMirco]

If it creeps 5 mm a year, it should be actually possible to set up a timelapse camera observing a spot on the patio and showing the actual movement in a speeded up footage.

[stringlarson]

Yep. I lived in E. Oakland in '89 and my office was in Emeryville. I was on the Nimitz double decker about 20min before it collapsed. Crazyness.

[claudiawelsh]

I lived in Freemont and now NJ. Interesting reporting and thank you. We felt a quake yesterday.

[larrylo]

I went to high school (Fremont) and college (Berkeley) on top of the Hayward Fault. UC Berkeley's stadium is bisected by the fault and it had to be renovated recently.

[kevinjacobson]

I lived in Fremont for a couple of years and played softball in Central Park. I never knew the history of the Hayward fault in that location when I lived there. Wish I did. Very interesting.

[sparkyofsocal]

Growing up in SoCal and living there for many years have always been fascinated with these shifts. Really enjoyed seeing earthquake shifts themselves, last witnessing for me the Ridgecrest, China Lake Trona Quake a few years ago. Question for you. No I live in OR and every morning I turn on computer before work, drink my coffee and check earthquake site just to see what’s going on. I find it so odd the lack of reported quakes within the OR boundaries is so rare with the existence of the Juan de Fuca and Cascadia Subduction Zone sitting outside my front door. I know reports say that small quakes are few and when quakes in the area do occur they are big. I once had a link that showed tremors down at the north and south ends of the state quite regularly with a few spread between. Is that really the story, no quakes along the plates like we see in Ca an north into WA and Canada and Oregon just sits there planted waiting for an 8 to happen.

[dexmadden]

Nice tight production and concise presentation, positive enjoyable affect. subbed

[TheGreatDuckpression]

Great video! Well made and very interesting.

[GadgetFF]

very interesting to watch, always enjoy these, thank you.

[stankythecat]

New subscriber here! Geology is fascinating. I dated a geologist for a while and he could tell me amazing stories about the geology around us when we travelled.

[fredsmith]

Andrew, I just subscribed and appreciate your very educational presentation!

[youandiryan]

This is a really awesome video. I'm in Canada and I find this really interesting. You are extremely detailed in this video

[kilcar]

Love to have you come to Bend, Oregon and access our hazards, as it's hardly been looked at. Love your theme on your shirt in this piece.

[rgamer]

Great video! You really are gonna grow!