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Show Part One: Quake hazards ' ' - ' Wascrtch quake peril among wors? in western hemisphere by Lynn Arnve NOTE: The following article is part one of a three part series to be published concerning the Wasatch Fault and earthquake hazards. Part two will specifically discuss Ogden area hazards, while part three will concern earthquake safety. The potential hazards along the Wasatch' Fault were described as being among the worst in this hemisphere in a 1976 extensive study done by the Utah Legislature. The Utah Geological Association concluded in another study done eight In terms of , years agp that; jt.s potential hazard to. fife and property, , the Wasatch Fault Zone is undoubtably the most important element in the total environment of the Wasatch Front. This extreme danger is due to the high density of . . Washington has another hazardous fault area. Just like the San Andreas Fault area, the Wasatch Fault area has the highest peril rating possible: A number three. The Wasatch Fault itself is about 160 miles long and extends from just north of Brigham City to Nephi. It runs right through parts of Utahs three largest cities: Ogden, Salt Lake and Provo and thus through three of the States three largest Colleges. earthquake in Alaska killed 114 persons and measured 8.5. The March 27, 1975 quake Pocatello Valley caused over 1 million in property damage. However, since it happened in such a remote area, most damage was in Malad City, Idaho. The Utah Geological' Association has predicted that a major earthquake will strike the Wasatch Front within the next Century. At least a 7.5 quake is expected and that equals the force of over one million tons of TNT. What mainly worries geologists in Utah is that Wasatch Fault is apparently of Mountains Wasatch Fault separates the mountains from the valleys. The fault is mainly responsible for the scenic view of the Wasatch mountians. A. fault, itself could be defined simply as a .major fractured zone within the earths surface along which movement of the earth can take place. Such fault movement can cause an earthquake. The the There are also two types of along population Wasatch Fronts Urban faults that exist. One is a area. Almost 80 per cent of vertical one where fault Utahs 1,268,000 people live movement would go up and within ten miles of the down, while the other is a Wasatch Fault. The Salt horizontal type where Metropolitan movement goes apart. The area contains nearly 800,000 Wasatch fault is a vertical persons and is the 47th fault, while the San Andreas largest metro area in the is of the horizontal type. Utah has suffered over nation. The Provo-Oremetro area has over 175,000 1,000 earthquakes since 1853. persons and is the nations The largest measured 6.7 on 178th largest population the Richter scale. The d Richter scale is an area. . locked together. Locked faults have no way to release the , pressure., . whicb.uthey build up. Thus, they usually store energy and stress for one really big quake. However, earthquake prediction is in its infancy and there are no for sures, only ifs. Source The Wasatch fault, though the biggest potential hazard in Utah, has not been the predominant source of quake activity, in Utah. Box Elder currently has more quakes than does any area in the State. Ogden valley, which has some subsidary faults oi' the Wasatch is also a source of resonable activity. The Malad, Idaho area is currently one of the most active areas in the Intermountain region. When faults slip or move, they can really cause damage. The last time the Wasatch fault slipped was in prehistoric times at the Mouth of Ogden Canyon near Rainbow Gardens. At that time, the slippage was ar incredible 50 feet. The fault actiyity in that area is mainly, responsible .for thr gorge, like appearance that the mouth of Ogden canyor has. A sign (though recent!) knocked down) explains o! the Wasatch Fault slippage near the mouth of Ogden Canyon. The fault also runs right through parts of Weber State College and directly through the WSC Wildcat Stadium. , shown clearly by the dotted lines in this photograph of the upper portion of the Weber State College campus. One section of the fault runs right through Wildcat Stadium under the east side of the track. Generally the fault is at the foot of the mountains throughout the Wasatch Front. The solid line in the middle of the photo denotes the old Lake Bonneville Shoreline. THE WASTACH FAULT: is ' Lake-Ogde- n Diamond Solitairo Colloction m J open-ende- measurement Density average desity for the entire state of Utah is 15.4 persons per square mile; along the Wasatch Front alone, this density climbs to nearly 250 person per square mile. If the Wasatch Front were a rural area, then earthquake hazard would not be near as serious. The Wasatch ' Fault is located in the Intermountain Though population ' the of number on LAST 3 DAYS! -- 9 -- 10 to 9 -- scale the NATIONWIDE TOUR Thurs., Feb. 8 10 to 6 Frl., Feb. Sat., Feb. 10 10 to 6 earthquake intensity. Every increase of one whole represents ten times greater ground movement than the previous number. A 3.5 Richter scale quake will cause slight local damage; a 4 moderate damage; a 6 severe damage and a seven will produce widespread destruction. Largest The largest earthquake ever recorded occurred in hazardous 1977 in a remote area of the Sesmic Belt, considered by most tobe the nations second -- most quake area. California's San Andreas Fault area is the worst potentially because of its even higher population density numbering in the millions of people. The State of ki Indian Ocean and measured a whopping 8.9. The biggest an mortality rate from earthquake killed 830,000 people in China in the year 1556. A more recent disaster also took place in China when a July 1976 earthquake wiped out an estimated 655,237 people. The United States has yet to suffer a really major mortality rate in its continential area. However, the March 1964 THE GORGE LIKE APPEARANCE the Wasatch Fault. at the mouth of Ogden Canyon was caused by aGTTDO LGAGOacn GUHJNAN3ING1NEED 1979 Ford 3A 1979 Ton T-B- ird Loaded, UR wheel cruise, power windows, and door locks, vinyi top, wire hub cabs, much, much more One single diamond. Set simply and elegantly. To sparkle on its own. Unique, because no two diamonds are alike. Come in to see our beautiful selection of diamond solitaire jewelry. Once you do, you'll know you've found the gift to give on a rare and wonderful occasion. 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