A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck offshore Cape Mendocino, California, approximately 100 kilometres southwest of Ferndale, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake struck near the coast of North California on December 6 at 12:14 am IST.
Sharing a post on X, the National Center for Seismology wrote, “EQ of M: 7.0, On: 06/12/2024 00:14:24 IST, Lat: 40.38 N, Long: 124.64 W, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Near Coast of N. California.”
The earthquake occurred at the Mendocino triple junction, where the Pacific, North America, and Juan de Fuca/Gorda plates converge and is believed to have resulted from strike-slip faulting on the Mendocino Fracture Zone.
“The December 5, 2024, M 7.0 Offshore Cape Mendocino earthquake occurred approximately 100 km southwest of Ferndale, California, off the coast of northern California in the vicinity of the Mendocino Fracture Zone. This earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the Mendocino triple junction – the region where the Pacific, North America, and Juan de Fuca/Gorda plates meet,” the USGA informed on its official website.
It further said that the focal mechanism solutions indicate that rupture occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting on a steeply dipping fault striking either east-southeast or north-northeast.
The location, depth and faulting mechanism indicate that this event likely occurred on or near the Mendocino Fracture Zone, a fault zone that strike east-southeast and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate to the south and the subducting Gorda Plate to the north, the USGA added.
Meanwhile, the tsunami warning affecting California and Oregon has been cancelled, NWS Tsunami Alerts, the US National Tsunami Warning Center informed
Sharing a post on X, NWS Tsunami Alerts wrote, “The tsunami Warning is cancelled for the coastal areas of California and Oregon. No tsunami danger presently exists for this area. This will be the final US National Tsunami Warning Center message for this event.”
Governor of California Gavin Newsom also spoke about the cancellation of the tsunami warning. He wrote on X, “Per @USGS at https://tsunami.gov, the tsunami warning affecting California and Oregon has been cancelled.”
Notably, earthquakes are common in the region around the Mendocino triple junction. Oblique motion between the southern Juan de Fuca/Gorda plate and the Pacific plate causes north-south compression within the Gorda plate and right-lateral translation along the boundary between the plates.