Researcher Suggests Rodgers Creek Fault Runs into the Hayward Fault

A new study suggests two Bay Area earthquake faults may be connected as one. The Rodgers Creek Fault, spanning from Santa Rosa into the San Pablo Bay and the Hayward Fault, running from below San Jose into West Contra Costa County.

The faults were once thought to be two miles apart under the bay. Researchers now believe the two may indeed form one 99-mile-long fault that could pack a bigger punch than the 1989 Loma Prieta shaker. Scientists say should the two faults join forces, they are capable of causing a magnitude seven-point-two earthquake.