Why Experts Are Sounding the Alarm Over California’s ‘Big One’

A new study has renewed concern about California’s long-feared “Big One,” after researchers concluded that parts of the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are carrying exceptionally high tectonic stress. The findings focus on Southern California and a critical junction northeast of Los Angeles known as Cajon Pass.

The research does not predict that a catastrophic earthquake is imminent or provide a date for one. Its warning is more specific: conditions capable of supporting a major, multi-fault rupture appear more concerning than previously understood.