Released in 2015, the movie San Andreas exploded onto screens as a massive disaster spectacle focused on California’s famous San Andreas Fault. Directed by Brad Peyton, the film featured a recognizable cast, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Ray Gaines, a heroic helicopter rescue pilot. Joining him are Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario as his estranged family, whom Ray hopes to save after a cataclysmic earthquake devastates the West Coast. With the chaos of collapsing skyscrapers, gaping fissures and even a towering tsunami, he’s got a lot stacked against him.
According to Box Office Mojo, San Andreas grossed nearly half a billion dollars worldwide, quickly becoming one of the most recognizable disaster films of the decade. Hollywood has always loved a good disaster scenario, but this story in particular made a unique choice by centering its destruction around a real geological feature. This extreme premise naturally led audiences to ask: Is San Andreas based on a true story? Here’s what to know.
How accurate is ‘San Andreas’?
Is San Andreas based on a true story? Not exactly, but it does draw loose inspiration from the real San Andreas Fault in California, as History Vs Hollywood reports. The film shows an earthquake of magnitude 9.6, ripping through California. According to seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the San Andreas Fault cannot produce a quake longer than around an 8.3 magnitude.
This is because it is a strike-slip (transform) fault, where two plates grind past each other horizontally. Quakes that reach a Magnitude 9.0 or higher only happen at subduction zones, where one tectonic plate is forced under another. This type of boundary caused the historically massive 1960 Chile quake and the 2004 Indian Ocean quake.
Another big exaggeration in San Andreas is the giant tsunami that engulfs San Francisco. Experts have confirmed that it is impossible since San Andreas runs mostly inland. Horizontal fault motion does not displace ocean water in the way necessary to trigger a tsunami, per History Vs Hollywood. On top of this, the movie depicts massive chasms opening in the earth. While this visual might amaze audiences to this day, geologists say it is unrealistic. Earthquakes occur due to friction between plates so if the ground pulled apart into wide gaps, there would be no mechanism to create such shaking.
However, the movie does get some things right. Aftershocks, or the possibility of quakes triggering others, is very real. Also, communication failures in the event of such disasters are a common phenomenon.
What would happen if the San Andreas Fault went off?
If a major earthquake struck along the San Andreas Fault today, the results would be devastating. But as USGS reports, they would not necessarily be apocalyptic. Shaking would certainly damage unreinforced buildings, break pipelines and roads, and cause landslides in some hilly terrain. Liquefaction could affect areas with looser soil, especially those around riverbeds and reclaimed land. Then, aftershocks would continue for weeks or months.
Unlike in the film, a massive tsunami would not occur. The San Andreas Fault runs mostly on land and involves horizontal sliding motion, not the vertical displacement of the seafloor needed to produce giant waves. Overal, the real dangers would be in collapsed infrastructure, prolonged power outages and widespread fires. These types of hazards were modelled in the official USGS “ShakeOut” scenario for a hypothetical 7.8 quake on the southern San Andreas Fault.
How did ‘San Andreas’ perform at the box office?
Despite its shaky science, San Andreas proved to be a pretty solid commercial success. It cost about $110 million to make and grossed $155.2 million in the United States and Canada. Internationally, it earned around $318.8 million. So, its worldwide total equals around $474 million, as Box Office Mojo reports. Plus, it benefited from a strategic summer release since it was released in May.
But beyond the numbers, reviews on the movie were mixed, per Rotten Tomatoes. Its score reflects praise for its visual effects and thrilling elements, but there is some criticism for its somewhat formulaic plot and far-fetched science. Some critics highlighted its implausible science but still praised the action-packed, large-scale destruction featured, which might have secured its success. And with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s star power, the audience reception was more favorable. In the end, the movie became one of the highest-grossing disaster films of the 2010s.
Does Blake die in ‘San Andreas’?
Blake Gaines, who is played by Alexandra Daddario, does not die in the film. But it is understandable why that may be assumed, since her character is in peril many times throughout. Early on in the movie, she is trapped under rubble in a parking garage. But she is rescued by her love interest and his younger brother, Ben and Ollie (played by Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson, respectively).
Later in San Andreas, she nearly drowns while submerged in a building after the tsunami scenes. Thankfully, her father, Ray, revives her and pulls her to safety. So despite her several close calls with death, she endures the perilous conditions. She survives the ordeal and reunites with both her parents (including Emma played by Gugino) in the final scenes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the San Andreas Fault start and end?
According to Britannica, the San Andreas Fault is about 800 miles (or 1,300 kilometers) long and runs through much of California. It begins near the Salton Sea in Southern California, passes through the San Bernardino Mountains, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. It ends offshore near Cape Mendocino in Northern California. This is where it meets two other major fault systems at the Mendocino Triple Junction.
What was the worst earthquake in history?
The strongest earthquake ever recorded by instruments was the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile. As USGS confirms, this reached a magnitude of 9.5 and triggered deadly tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean.
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