It is easy to forget, while living in our industrialized bubbles, that our planet is very much a geologically active place. The San Andres fault, a transform fault and one of the biggest faults marking the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates, is well known and often dramatized. Geology may deserve a little drama, but dramatization without a sense of reality takes away from how interesting the real science is.
The plate boundary between the North American and Pacific plates is active, and there are several active faults in the area. Earthquakes happen on our planet every day, of varying intensity, all over the world. In somewhere like California, with more scientifically advanced seismic monitoring and infrastructure designed to hold up to this type of damage, seeing a 5.2 Earthquake close enough to be felt and send Earthquake warnings is interesting, frightening, and a reminder that we are a lot safer here than other locations around the “ring of fire.” Geologic activity is real, it is here. The real-world effects are interesting and important; there are real lives affected by Earth’s activity, and how prepared we are for it.