Bristol really doesn’t have any ties to California and yet we have a roundabout named after a town from the Golden State.
The San Andreas roundabout is located at the second entrance to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway at the Marks and Spencer end.
It connects traffic to Charlton Hayes along Highwood Road and out towards Aerospace Bristol via Hayes Way.
The next three roundabout along Hayes Way are called Brabazon, Blenheim and Concorde - now those names make sense.
All three of those planes were built right here in Bristol - in fact just a stone’s throw from where the current roundabouts are located.
So how did the San Andreas roundabout get its name - with no obvious connection to California or earthquakes?
Well according to the Streetcare team at South Gloucestershire Council it’s all to do with the shape and design of the grassy mould in the centre of the roundabout.
Most people have probably heard of San Andreas in California - it’s located about 100miles east of San Francisco. But the name is most famously associated with the San Andreas Fault line.
The fault line, which stretches around 1,200 kilometers through California, generally takes centre stage when it comes to state’s earthquake activity.
It's where the Pacific tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate rub against each other, causing sections of ground to lock together, slowly building up strain until they suddenly release, producing powerful quakes.
For hundreds of years the San Andreas has been the primary origin of massive earthquakes in the region.
Many fear it is now overdue for a massive earthquake, known as the “Big One”.
The fault line has a distinctive appearance on satellite maps caused by the constant movement of the two tectonic plates, which causes rocks on the two sides to push up against each other displacing the earth's crust. As a result it creates a trench-like impression along the line.
And this is where the similarity with the roundabout at Cribbs Causeway lies.
According to South Gloucestershire Council the roundabout has "two longitudinal mounds that leave the impression of a trench through the middle" - although obviously on a much smaller scale.
Whether the shrubbery was placed that way intentionally or that was just how it grew - who knows.
But that is why there is a roundabout named after San Andreas on the outskirts of the city.
