Finally posting the photos from my August 22, 2019 Ridgecrest trip. Part 1, which covers the fault rupture, is finally up. Part 2, which will cover the problems in Poison Canyon and Trona, are coming soon!
Category Archives: California
Featured Image – 11/5/2019
Owens Lake, once a fairly large lake at the southern end of the Owens Valley, dried up after the water from the Owens River, its primary source, was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. That aqueduct, engineered by William Mulholland, was officially opened on November 5, 1913.
Shown here, the shorelines of the former Owens Lake are visible in the distance, rather looking like rings in a bathtub. The lake bed, after the lake was gone, became one of the largest single sources of particulate matter pollution in the western United States. Mitigation efforts, required by court decree, have helped a great deal but are still a far cry from the lake that once had steam boats crossing it.
M 6.4 near Searles Lake, CA
At 10:33 am this morning, July 4, 2019, there was a Mw 6.4 earthquake centered a few miles northeast of Ridgecrest, California. The focus of the earthquake was mid-range in depth, about 10.7 km deep. So far, there have been numerous aftershocks ranging up to M 4.7 in size at the time of this writing. The earthquake is the largest to strike southern California in some time. The area to the northwest of the epicenter has been subject to earthquake swarms in the past as well, though usually only up to the M 5.0 range in size.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183/executive
USGS summary of the earthquake
Due to the size of the earthquake, I would expect there to be a fair amount of damage to buildings in the Searles Lake, Trona, Pioneer Point, Ridgecrest, and Inyokern areas. If you live in any of these areas, let the USGS know about what happened. Your information is greatly appreciated and will help them better understand the effects of earthquakes.
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38443183/dyfi/intensity
Did you feel it? Report it to the USGS here!
Featured Image – March 12 and 13, 2018
This featured image covers two dates for a reason. The St. Francis Dam, a former dam in San Francisquito Canyon above Santa Clarita, California, collapsed at 11:57:30 pm on March 12, 1928. The ensuing flood caused a great deal of damage along the canyon and the Santa Clara River Valley. Over 500 lives were lost that night in, even in 2018, the second largest disaster by loss of life in California. The even had repercussions throughout the world. Following that event, dams, as well as other large projects, no longer were approved by engineers. Geologists had the final say, not engineers. Both geologists and engineers also had to be certified by their state government to work as professionals.
The head engineer on the project, William Mulholland, was a great engineer. He oversaw and helped design the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which was the largest and longest project of its time. It is still an engineering marvel today, more than 100 years later. The disaster ruined his career and during the investigation, he not only took full responsibility for the event, but also was said to have “envied the dead”. The collapse took a big toll on the “Chief” and he died a few years later.
This post is in memory of both those that died that fateful night in 1928 and to William Mulholland. A man that went from the “Savior of the City” to a pariah in just a few years.
Featured Image – 2/27/2018
