New Fault Line Found in Southern California

Researchers said they have found a new, underwater fault line in southern California that runs along the Salton Sea and parallel to the San Andreas Fault.

A study that examines the newly named Salton Trough Fault appeared in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America this week. Researchers still need to determine the line’s length and location before its danger can be fully understood, USA Today reports.

A recent swarm of about 200 earthquakes in the state has put fault lines—and the danger of the “Big One”—at the front of people’s minds, but study coauthor Valerie Sahakian said this fault line is unrelated to the uptick.

Sahakian also said finding new fault lines is fairly rare, but the Salton Trough Fault was harder to locate since it runs underwater.

[USA Today]