The Pedro Miguel Fault is a seismic fault that runs beneath the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and near

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, home to approximately 1.2 million of Panama's approximately 3.3 million inhabitants.Larry O'Hanlon
"Quake risk threatens Panama Canal and City: Two large earthquake faults could expose area to serious shaking,"
Discovery News,

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

, November 22, 2010.

Seismic activity

Both faults are active, cause earthquakes every 600 to 900 years, and could cause ground slippage of up to . An earthquake in 1882 caused a regional

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

. A team of seismologists led by Tom Rockwell of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

found evidence suggesting both faults slipped simultaneously around 700 CE.

Potential consequences of an earthquake

The Pedro Miguel and the Limón Fault system are a concern for geologists, as a strong earthquake centered on either could damage the canal, drain the lake that supplies water for the operation of its locks, Lago Gatun, and cause severe damage in the capital.Andy Coghlan
"Panama canal is due a big earthquake,"
Environment, ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'', November 18, 2010, revised November 25, 2010.

Seismic activity

Potential consequences of an earthquake

References

Further reading