Photo: San Andreas Fault May Be Rare Quake "Superhighway"

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A road crosses the San Andreas Fault—visible as a depression running from the top of the photo to the bottom—just north of Wallace Creek, in California's Carrizo Plain.

A new analysis suggests that the Carrizo Plain contains a section of fault that could serve as a "superhighway," sending devastating quakes hurtling toward Los Angeles and Santa Barbara faster than the speed of sound.

Photograph by Scott Haefner, USGS

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