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News Release 07-132
Geologists Recover Rocks From San Andreas Fault
Scientists drill into earthquake zone 10,000-plus feet beneath Earth's surface
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![For the first time, geologists have drilled into the San Andreas Fault.](/news/mmg/media/images/rock1_f.jpg)
For the first time, geologists have drilled into the San Andreas Fault.
Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation
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![This drilling rig was used to retrieve samples of rock from the San Andreas Fault.](/news/mmg/media/images/rock2_f.jpg)
This drilling rig was used to retrieve samples of rock from the San Andreas Fault.
Credit: EarthScope
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![The green rock on the right, called serpentinite, is a strand of the San Andreas fault.](/news/mmg/media/images/rock3_f.jpg)
The green rock on the right, called serpentinite, is a strand of the San Andreas fault.
Credit: EarthScope
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![Photo of Kaye Shedlock](/news/mmg/media/images/shedlock_f1.jpg)
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Kaye Shedlock, NSF EarthScope program director, comments on EarthScope and the SAFOD project.
Credit: National Science Foundation/Stanford
![Photo of Steve Hickman](/news/mmg/media/images/s_hickman_f.jpg)
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Steve Hickman, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), describes the core sample retrieved from the San Andreas Fault.
Credit: National Science Foundation/Stanford
![Photo of Zoback](/news/mmg/media/images/zoback_f.jpg)
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Mark Zoback of Stanford University describes the current phase of drilling through the San Andreas Fault.
Credit: National Science Foundation/Stanford