Fault rupture length: Earthquakes can result in various forms of damage, but many result in fault ruptures, or cracks in the Earth’s surface. In a 1958 study11 of earthquakes in California and Nevada,...

Fault rupture length: Earthquakes can result in various forms of damage, but many result in fault ruptures, or cracks in the Earth’s surface. In a 1958 study11 of earthquakes in California and Nevada, D. Tocher found the following relationship between the fault rupture length L, in kilometers, and the magnitude M (on the Richter scale) of an earthquake:

What fault rupture length would be expected from an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale?