Scientists stumble across rare evidence that Earth is peeling underneath the Sierra Nevada

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN Seismologist Deborah Kilb was reviewing California earthquake records from the past four decades when she noticed something curious: a series of deep quakes that had occurred beneath the Sierra Nevada mountains at a depth where the Earth's crust would normally be too hot and under high pressure for seismic activity. “In Northern California, the (earthquake) data typically goes down to about 10 kilometers (6 miles). In Sout…

Scientists stumble across rare evidence that the Earth is peeling underneath the Sierra Nevada

Scientists found new evidence that Earth’s crust is peeling underneath the Sierra Nevada in California. The process might be how the continents formed, they say.

New seismological and geological evidence confirms a rare phenomenon under the Sierra Nevada mountain range: the earth's crust is breaking off and gradually sinking into the mantle, an active process that could reshape the region on...