California's most-famous fault is the San Andreas, which is hundreds of miles long and runs almost the entire length of the state. Different countries have different earthquake legends. The turtle is balanced in turn by a cobra. When one of these animals moves, the earth trembles and shakes. A tsunami is a series of large waves, as much as 50 feet high, that can move faster than a person can run.
Large tsunamis can cause damage when they hit locations along the sea coast.
Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or less are small, and may not even be felt by humans. Earthquakes of magnitude 5 may knock items off of shelves or cause minor damage. A magnitude 6 earthquake is likely to cause damage to buildings. Above magnitude 6.5, earthquakes are likely to cause a lot of damage, and may cause buildings or freeways to fall.