San Andreas - Geology vs. Hollywood

San Andreas Movie Questions Disasters: Geology vs. Hollywood Introduction In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey with his ex-wife across the state in order to rescue his daughter. Learning Objectives ● Critically assess the portrayal of science, earthquake behavior, and emergency response along the San Andreas fault system in the movie San Andreas (2015). (4, 5, a) Part 1: Watch the movie As you are watching the video clips, look for the answers to the following questions. 1. It’s unclear if an earthquake caused the landslide in the opening scene, but in real life, can earthquakes cause mass wasting events? How can this happen? Yes, when an earthquake occurs it causes the ground to shake, which then can cause mass wasting events. 2. Is Dr. Hayes’s prediction about the “next big one” different from how earthquakes are predicted today? Scientists now use seismographs to try and keep track of when the next big earthquake will hit. Dr. Hayes used magnetic pulses. 3. If you “discovered” that there are active fault lines in Nevada, does it seem plausible that you would be able to use them to help you predict earthquakes? What is the likely reason why they are recording earthquakes in this area? (Feel free to review lecture notes.) Studying this area might be able to show past occurrences and will be able to better predict future earthquakes in the same area they occurred previously. 4. Is evacuating a building the best course of action during an earthquake? If not, what is? If there is time, I think evacuating the building is the best approach, but if there isn’t any time; getting as low to the ground as possible and staying far away from windows is the next best course of action to take. 5. Whoa, that’s a lot of destruction! You can clearly see seismic waves propagating across the landscape. What type of wave do you think this is? Explain your reasoning. I think they are S waves because they are very dangerous and make the ground shake and move in different directions as shown in the movie. 6. Dr. Hayes explains on the news that San Francisco will “get hit again, with a 9.5M event or higher. It will be so big that people on the east coast will feel it.” What is wrong with this statement? The problem with this statement is that the magnitude isn’t strong enough to support such a long occurring event. 7. The Rock and his wife are warned that the road is out ahead. They come to a place where the earth has been displaced. There are two types of faults here. Name one of them and explain your reasoning. (If you can name them both, that would be awesome!) It’s a strike slip which happens when the blocks pass each other. 8. How does the Rock know that a tsunami is coming? What is this part of the wave actually called? The water is being drawn back indicating a tsunami is forming. This part is called the crest. 9. What is wrong with how the tsunami wave is depicted? It was interpreted as the wave recedes fast before the main part of the Tsunami occurs. 10. Why would you NOT see a local tsunami occur in the San Francisco area? There is no subduction zone in this area. 11. As the parents are looking for their daughter, the water is no longer moving inland. Should our heroes be concerned about anything else? Why/why not? The water isn’t at its peak yet. When it comes back it’ll be in full force. 12. The aerial shot at the end?!?! Really again with this misconception? What happened? Why is this not valid? The area wasn’t even wet the bay had been hot, so it just didn’t make any sense.