Locked in some places, creeping in others
Parts of the San Andreas creep along quietly - others are stuck fast.
The San Andreas is a transform fault: two plates grinding sideways past each other. In central California the fault creeps, releasing strain in small steady steps. But the big locked sections to the north and south store their strain for the rare, great earthquake.
What is happening at San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas marks where the Pacific Plate slides northwest past the North American Plate. It is not one clean line but a system of faults running most of the length of California.
Its behaviour changes along its length. The creeping section near Parkfield slips almost continuously. The locked sections that ruptured in 1906 and 1857 barely move between great quakes - which is exactly why those quakes are so large when they come.
The hazard record here
THE RECORD HERE
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck here in 1952.
Epicentre: The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake.
Live figures from the QuakeMate hazard API - USGS earthquake catalog, NOAA tsunami database and published recurrence estimates. Some fields are blank where there is no record.
Recent earthquakes at San Andreas Fault
- 1.825 km SW of Maricopa, CA3 weeks ago · 07/07/2026, 12:33:55 · 8 km deep
- 1.325 km SW of Maricopa, CA3 weeks ago · 10/07/2026, 17:15:51 · 9 km deep
- 0.726 km SW of Maricopa, CA2 weeks ago · 15/07/2026, 06:14:34 · 9 km deep
- 1.126 km SW of Maricopa, CA2 weeks ago · 11/07/2026, 16:44:00 · 9 km deep
- 1.629 km SW of Maricopa, CA2 weeks ago · 15/07/2026, 16:43:07 · 7 km deep
- 1.016 km SSE of Maricopa, CA3 weeks ago · 05/07/2026, 07:57:38 · 2 km deep
94 more earthquakes at San Andreas Fault
Open the QuakeMate app to see every quake here, sorted and mapped - plus real-time alerts when a new one strikes.
Notable events
4.1Recent2026M4.1 - 2 km ESE of Frazier Park, CA2 weeks ago · tap for full data1857
The great Fort Tejon earthquake ruptured the southern San Andreas.
1906
The M~7.9 San Francisco earthquake broke the northern section.
1989
The Loma Prieta quake struck during the World Series.
What scientists watch
The USGS and partners run ShakeAlert, the West Coast early-warning system, and study which fault sections are locked versus creeping.
Staying ahead of it
ShakeAlert can give Californians seconds of warning - QuakeMate keeps the record and the live map in one place alongside it.
Get QuakeMate freeGet warned before the next one at San Andreas Fault.
QuakeMate sends a push the instant the ground moves - plus tsunami and volcano alerts. Free to download.
San Andreas Fault: common questions
Is California overdue for "the Big One"?
The southern San Andreas has not produced a great earthquake since 1857, longer than its average interval, so the probability over the coming decades is high. No one can predict the date, which is why early warning and preparation matter.
What does it mean that the fault "creeps"?
In central California the San Andreas slips slowly and steadily, releasing strain in small amounts. Locked sections do not creep - they store strain until it releases all at once in a large quake.
Related hazard zones
Earthquake data via the QuakeMate API (USGS, EMSC and regional agencies). Historical notes summarise well-established events; magnitudes and dates follow the published record. Live figures may be revised.