No longer a movie: A plate fault in the Pacific Ocean has been discovered, really threatening the USA

The scenario of the apocalyptic film "San Andreas Fault" may become a reality for the United States, but not at all where it was planned. A fault was found in the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the northwest coast of the Pacific Ocean, and this greatly alarmed scientists, writes The New York Times.

"Among the tectonic risks facing the planet, the threat of a mega-earthquake in the San Andreas fault area in California looks very frightening, but the geological fault in the Cascadia subduction zone gives experts even more cause for concern," the article says.

The Cascadia subduction zone extends from Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California. In this region, the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate goes under the continental plate of North America. In the study, the results of which were published in the journal Geosphere, seismologists suggest that the fate of the two faults may be closely intertwined.

"People often say about Cascadia, 'When it disappears, it will be the largest disaster in the history of North America,'" says Chris Goldfinger, professor emeritus at Oregon State University. — But what if San Andreas disappears at the same time? This will also be the largest disaster in the history of North America, but it will be much larger."

In a new paper, Goldfinger and his colleagues have found evidence that the disaster is quite real. It can occur in the area where San Andreas and Cascadia converge - in the area of Cape Mendocino.

The Pacific coast of the USA is the most populous region of the country. More than 39 million people live in the state of California. The San Andreas fault runs in close proximity to the cities of Los Angeles (with a population of 3.8 million people) and San Francisco, which is home to more than 800 thousand people. There are many other settlements in potential danger, which are located in the southern part of California.