We Californians have our faults! And not all of them are normal....this is the San Andreas fault at Wallace Creek in the Carrizo Plains region. This is one of the finest exposures of an offset stream to be found anywhere along the entire fault system. The creek has been offset hundreds of feet in a right lateral sense (the people on the left side of fault are moving away at a few centimeters a year, the right side is moving towards you). Want to learn more? Visit the SCEC guide at http://www.scec.org/wallacecreek/online/saf.html. For an aerial view of this fault exposure, look at the previous post below....Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Picture of the Day
We Californians have our faults! And not all of them are normal....this is the San Andreas fault at Wallace Creek in the Carrizo Plains region. This is one of the finest exposures of an offset stream to be found anywhere along the entire fault system. The creek has been offset hundreds of feet in a right lateral sense (the people on the left side of fault are moving away at a few centimeters a year, the right side is moving towards you). Want to learn more? Visit the SCEC guide at http://www.scec.org/wallacecreek/online/saf.html. For an aerial view of this fault exposure, look at the previous post below....
I've seen this locality in many photos and I've been there myself, but I've never seen it so green. What time of year was this shot taken?
ReplyDeleteMarch 24, 2006, during a rainy period. About 30 minutes after snapping the picture we got drenched. It was a field trip during a conference of the Far West Section of the NAGT
ReplyDeleteTo echo Ron a little...
ReplyDeleteWoah, green!
If not for the distinctively huge offset in the streambed, I wouldn't in a million years guess that to be the same place that I visited. The Wallace Creek that I saw was parched lifeless tan. Of course, it was late June... (The "lifeless" nearly extended to me and the friend with whom I visited - I don't even want to know how hot it actually was, even at only 9 AM.)
I'm planning on going back this March. It'd be nice to see the kind of green like you have in this photo, plus a few wildflowers.
Julian, enjoy your trip in March. It's funny that my impression of the place is of moisture and mud. Not that I haven't had plenty of experiences in the Central Valley and Coast Ranges in dry and hot, hot, conditions.
ReplyDelete