Earthquakes in Tijuana: The San Andreas Border Fault System

Yes, Tijuana is a high earthquake-risk zone. The city sits at the northwestern tip of Mexico, on the California border, within one of the most tectonically active regions on the continent. Unlike much of Mexico, where the danger comes from Pacific subduction, Tijuana's risk is tied directly to the great transform-fault system separating the Pacific plate from the North American plate.

The geological context is decisive: the Tijuana and Baja California area is crossed by the San Andreas fault system and, very close by, the Cerro Prieto fault and other faults linked to the plate boundary that runs from the Gulf of California up into California. Here the plates slide laterally past each other, building up energy that is released in earthquakes that can reach large magnitudes. This is the same activity that threatens Californian cities such as San Diego and Los Angeles.

Tijuana and its surroundings have suffered major earthquakes throughout their history. The 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake, with a magnitude near 7.2 and its epicentre in Baja California, was strongly felt in the city and caused damage across the border region. Given its position on an active plate boundary, Tijuana must take earthquake preparedness seriously, with seismic-resistant construction and emergency planning, since the danger of a strong quake is real and persistent.