Geological and historical evidence shows that earthquakes in the easte

Geological and historical evidence shows that earthquakes in the eastern United States can be as powerful as those in California and can strike a much larger area. An eastern earthquake will jolt an area 100 times greater than the area that would be affected by a Californi.a quake of comparable magnitude.


Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the difference described above in the size of the affected areas?

(A) Buildings in the eastern United States are typically older than those in California and will, therefore, suffer far greater damage in the event of a major earthquake.
(B) The crust of the Earth in California, compared to that in the eastern United States, has a greater abundance of faults that absorb the shock waves of an earthqua~e as they travel outward from the epicenter.
(C) Several of the most powerful and extensive earthquakes that have occurred in the United States were centered somewhere in the eastern United States.
(D) Since major earthquakes have occurred far less frequently and regularly in the eastern United States than in California, it is harder to predict when the next major eastern quake might strike.
(E) The causes of earthquakes in California are better understood than those of earthquakes in the eastern United States