--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each scenario is about fifteen million…" description: "\"“Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the future, and each assumes that the Pacific Plate will continue to move northwest at about 2.0 inc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg" --- # Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the… ![“Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the future, and each assumes that the Pacific Plate will continue to move northwest at about 2.0 inches per year relative to the interior of North America. In scenario 1, the San Andreas fault is the sole locus of motion. Baja California and…” quote by Keith Meldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg) > ““Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the future, and each assumes that the Pacific Plate will continue to move northwest at about 2.0 inches per year relative to the interior of North America. In scenario 1, the San Andreas fault is the sole locus of motion. Baja California and coastal California shear away from the rest of the continent to form a long, skinny island. A short ferry ride across the San Andreas Strait connects LA to San Francisco. In scenario 2, all of California west of the Sierra Nevada, together with Baja California, shears away to the northwest. The Gulf of California becomes the Reno Sea, which divides California from Nevada. The scene is reminiscent of how the Arabian Peninsula split from Africa to open the Red Sea some 5 million years ago. In scenario 3, central Nevada splits open through the middle of the Basin and Range province. The widening Gulf of Nevada divides the continent form a large island composed of Washington, Oregon, California, Baja California, and western Nevada. The scene is akin to Madagascar’s origin when it split form eastern Africa to open the Mozambique Channel.”” Keith Meldahl ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The scenarios imagine future continental shifts, showing how plate tectonics could reshape coastlines and create new islands. **In simple terms:** Future plate movements could reshape land and create islands. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term geological change. Themes geology future scenarios tectonics Mood curious speculative Type scientific educational When to use this quote - urban planning - disaster preparedness - education - science communication Key Concepts plate dynamics environmental change Questions to Reflect On - What impacts would new coastlines have on societies? - How can we prepare for geological change? A Different Perspective Predictions are uncertain and depend on many variables. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Geology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geology/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [North america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-america/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“You might think that, by now, people would have become accustomed to the idea of natural catastrophes. We live on a planet that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-might-think-that-by-now-people-would-have-become-accustomed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Keith Meldahl > [“Push up some mountains. Cut them down. Drown the land under the sea. Push up some more mountains. Cut them down. Push up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/push-up-some-mountains-cut-them-down-drown-the-land-under-the-sea/) Keith Meldahl > [“Earth processes that seem trivially slow in human time can accomplish stunning work in geologic time. Let the Colorado River erode its bed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/earth-processes-that-seem-trivially-slow-in-human-time-can-accomplish/) Keith Meldahl > [“Colorado and Wyoming are America’s highest states, averaging 6,800 feet and 6,700 feet above sea level. Utah comes in third at 6,100 feet, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/colorado-and-wyoming-are-america-s-highest-states-averaging-6-800/) Keith Meldahl Explore all 4 Keith Meldahl quotes ## More California quotes > [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) Sam Hinton > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/) [David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/) > [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/) [Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/) > [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/) [Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/) > [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/) [Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/) > [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/) [Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) [Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the future, and each assumes that the Pacific Plate will continue to move northwest at about 2.0 inches per year relative to the interior of North America. In scenario 1, the San Andreas fault is the sole locus of motion. Baja California and coastal California shear away from the rest of the continent to form a long, skinny island. A short ferry ride across the San Andreas Strait connects LA to San Francisco. In scenario 2, all of California west of the Sierra Nevada, together with Baja California, shears away to the northwest. The Gulf of California becomes the Reno Sea, which divides California from Nevada. The scene is reminiscent of how the Arabian Peninsula split from Africa to open the Red Sea some 5 million years ago. In scenario 3, central Nevada splits open through the middle of the Basin and Range province. The widening Gulf of Nevada divides the continent form a large island composed of Washington, Oregon, California, Baja California, and western Nevada. The scene is akin to Madagascar’s origin when it split form eastern Africa to open the Mozambique Channel.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Keith Meldahl" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-years-into-the-future-and-each/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "California" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-years-into-the-future-and-each/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/keith-meldahl-65440_california_each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-y_187911.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each scenario is about fifteen million years into the future, and each assumes that the Pacific Plate will…” — Keith Meldahl", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Keith Meldahl", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-meldahl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Each scenario is about fifteen million...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-years-into-the-future-and-each/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/each-scenario-is-about-fifteen-million-years-into-the-future-and-each/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```