The San Andreas fault defines much of the geology and surface features of California. Sharron and I have a project to "Follow the Fault" from its southerly terminus on the southeast corner of the Salton Sea (this picture to its northern exit of the mainland into the ocean.
Mud-pots are prevalent near the beginning of the fault. This is near Brawley, California.
The mud-pots typically belch a gaseous mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.
Mountains on the east side of the Salton Sea were pushed up by the tectonic forces of the Pacific and North American plates grinding together.
Just east of I-5 near the top of the Tejon Pass the fault has carved out a broad rift in the landscape. A "sag pond" which is a fault-caused depression which intermittently fills with water lies on the fault. The fault is runningto the northwest from the southeast.
This panorama shows the sag pond and the mountains around it. The elevation of the sag pond is about 1500 meters.
Just west of Gorman, California is a feature caused by the largest known earthquake in California. It is estimated as an 8.0 Richter. The earthquake thrust up the land some 10-15 meters. The groves are the result of water and wind erosion.
This dry sag pond sits directly on the fault in Frazier Park, California. The small community sits directly on one of the most seismically active parts of the fault.
Tjis is the Frazier Park sag pond in 2010. These two photographs dramatically capture the impact of the current drought.
Another view of the Frazier Park sag pond.
Continuing northwest from Frazier Park, we encounter mountains near the "Big Bend" in the fault. The fault rotated and shifted the entire land mass. The Big Bend changes the direction of the fault by close to 60 degrees.
Geologists and geochemists are inspired by the mineralogy created by the fault. This exposed face is painted in rich colors by combinations of minerals.
As the fault drops down to the Corrizzo Plain, more wide rifts with notable features are encountered.
The rift-life feature running from right to left, through yet another sag pond, marks the path of the fault as it heads west of north along the west side of the Central Valley.
More fault features
This sign, outside Parkfield, California says it all.
Parkfield records the most earthquakes each day in the state. The Parkfield Inn will refund your overnight room cost if you do not experience one. Most are small, in the 2-4 Richter range.
Traveling north and west, the fault continues to sculpt the land and provide dramatic changes in geology.
The fault leaves California on the Lost Coast in Shelter Cove. This photograph, taken standing directly on the fault, shows the exact location of the fault entering the Pacific Ocean.
The fault caused the steep landscape which defines this tiny coastal village.