Garlock Scarps EarthCache
Hidden : 3/23/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

In 1995, USGS seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said "If California didn't have earthquakes, it would look a lot like Kansas...Flat"

You can safely pull off Garlock Road to view this cache. There is plenty of parking.


To paraphrase what I once heard, Earthquakes have caused billions of dollars in damage to California. Think of some of the more damaginf earthquakes: San Francisco 1906, Kern County 1952, Sylmar 1971, Coalinga 1983, Landers 1992, Big Bear 1992, Cape Mendicino 1992, Northridge 1994 to name a few.

Yet, earthquakes have generated even more money for California. How? Because of the number of faults in California, we are blessed with mountains, valleys, river, lakes, and deserts. All the result of earthquakes. Visitors flock to California to visit some of these beautiful places.


What is fault scarping? It is scarring of the earth's crust caused by movement along a fault line. This movement can occur over a long period of time. Or it can happen during a single earthquake event.

There are several types of movement that can occur along a fault line. For this cache, we are going to look at a couple types of movement that are associated with earthquake events. One of the more common types of movement during an earthquake is called "Strike Slip". This is where one side of the fault line moves horizontal along the other. A good example of this occurred in 1992 during the Magnitude 7.3 Landers earthquake. The scarp that ran some 80 kilometers through the that part of the desert had noticeable horizontal movement. In some places the scarp showed as much as 6 meters of horizontal offsets. Another visible strike slip scarp is in the Sonoma Valley vineyards. Slow creeping along the San Andreas fault has left a noticeable scarp offsetting vineyards and roads.

Another familiar type of faulting in California is Thrust faulting. This is vertical movement where the crust on one side of the fault rises vertically over the other. Like Strike Slip movement, this can happen over thousands of years of slow creep, or a single earthquake event. One very notable thrust event that left a huge thrust scarp is the 1971 Sylmar quake. The scarp in the San Gabriel mountains was nearly 3 meters in some points. This is still clearly visible today. Another beautiful scarp can be found off highway 58 near the Caliente exit in Kern County. This scarp is the result of the behemoth 1952 Kern Count earthquake.

Visit this link for more info on the Garlock fault http://digital-desert.com/garlock-fault/


If you visit this cache, this is what I want to know.

1. What kind of fault movement did you notice? Strike slip (Horizontal Movement) or Thrust (Vertical)?

2. Estimate the average scarp (movement)?


3. Do you think this scarping is from a single event, or did it occur over a long period of time? (Don't worry if you get this question right or wrong. I am merely asking for your thoughts

Bonus Question:
Based on the number of abandoned structures in and around this area, the Garlock fault brought what kind of employment to the area in the late 1800's to early 1900's?

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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