As if California doesn't have enough going on, right?
The Arizona Geological Survey has just completed an examination of rhyolite domes (rhyolite is a volcanic rock, high-silica magma that cools on the surface). Their conclusion is that the Salton Trough, the geological formation that contains the Salton Sea as well as the Coachella Valley and the Imperial Valley, exhibits high subsurface temperatures. The Salton Trough is what's known as a "pull-apart basin", an area of depressed topology which has been formed by the action of the San Andreas Fault and the East Pacific Rise (in other words, the general westward movement of coastal California). Because of this the floor of the trough is stretched very thin, which accounts for the higher than normal subsurface temps. This, along with the presence of surface and subsurface rhyolite, indicates past volcanism and so is a marker for future activity.
Bottom line - as the San Andreas continues to be active due to the general tectonic motion it will - reasonably soon, at least in geological time - become almost inevitable that the region becomes actively volcanic.
This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on property values in places like Palm Springs.
The Arizona Geological Survey has just completed an examination of rhyolite domes (rhyolite is a volcanic rock, high-silica magma that cools on the surface). Their conclusion is that the Salton Trough, the geological formation that contains the Salton Sea as well as the Coachella Valley and the Imperial Valley, exhibits high subsurface temperatures. The Salton Trough is what's known as a "pull-apart basin", an area of depressed topology which has been formed by the action of the San Andreas Fault and the East Pacific Rise (in other words, the general westward movement of coastal California). Because of this the floor of the trough is stretched very thin, which accounts for the higher than normal subsurface temps. This, along with the presence of surface and subsurface rhyolite, indicates past volcanism and so is a marker for future activity.
Bottom line - as the San Andreas continues to be active due to the general tectonic motion it will - reasonably soon, at least in geological time - become almost inevitable that the region becomes actively volcanic.
This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on property values in places like Palm Springs.
