Lone Pine fault scarp

The Great Lone Pine earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes to hit California in recorded history. The quake struck on March 26, 1872 and its epicenter was near Lone Pine, California in Owens Valley. The true size of this earthquake is not known, but historical evidence detailing the damage it caused in settlements and landforms near the epicenter and the geographic extent to which noticeable movement was felt, leads researchers to estimate a Richter magnitude of 7.6 to 8 or greater - similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Download high resolution version (1200x729, 165 KB)Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Download high resolution version (1200x729, 165 KB)Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a trembling or a shaking movement of the Earths surface. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The epicenter or epicentre (ancient Greek: επίκεντρον) is the point on the Earths surface that is directly above or below the center of a localized explosive event or point of seismic energy release. ... Lone Pine is a census-designated place located in Inyo County, California. ... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... San Francisco City Hall, April 20, 1906 The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake at San Francisco, California on the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. ...

The quake hit at 2:35 in the morning and leveled almost all the buildings in Lone Pine and nearby settlements. Of the estimated 250-300 inhabitants of Lone Pine, 27 are known to have perished and 52 of the 59 houses were destroyed. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 100 kilometers south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, California, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000 (1872 dollars). As in many earthquakes, adobe, stone and masonry structures fared worse than wooden ones which prompted the closing of nearby Camp Independence which was an adobe structure destroyed in the quake. Inyo County is a county located in east-central California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park. ... Indian Wells is a city located in Riverside County, California, in the Palm Springs area, in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. ... This page deals with adobe, the construction material. ... This page deals with adobe, the construction material. ... Dressed masonry in Barcelona, Spain, with lintel and arch. ...

Scarp boulder that has been studied

The quake was felt strongly as far away as Sacramento where citizens were startled out of bed and into the streets. Giant rockslides in what is now Yosemite National Park woke naturalist John Muir, then living in Yosemite Valley, who reportedly ran out of his cabin shouting, "A noble earthquake!" and promptly made a moonlit survey of the fresh talus piles. This earthquake stopped clocks and awakened people in San Diego, California to the south, Red Bluff, California to the north, and Elko, Nevada, to the east. The shock was felt over most of California and much of Nevada. Thousands of aftershocks occurred, some severe. Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Image taken in September 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Sacramento from near the Sacramento River Sacramento is the county seat of Sacramento County, California and the capital of the U.S. state of California. ... This entry refers to the geological term landslide. ... Yosemite National Park (pronounced Yo-SEM-it-tee, IPA ) is a U.S. national park largely in Mariposa County, and Tuolumne County, California, United States. ... John Muir (April 21, 1838 – December 24, 1914) was an environmentalist, naturalist, traveler, writer, and scientist. ... Yosemite Valley with Half Dome in the distance. ... Talus (which is Latin for ankle-bone), has several meanings: in mountaineering and climbing, talus is small broken rock found on mountain slopes and at the base of cliffs. ... City nickname: Americas Finest City Location of San Diego within San Diego County County San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy* Area   â€“Land   â€“Water 372. ... Red Bluff is the county seat of Tehama County, California. ... Elko, Nevada Elko is a city located in Elko County, Nevada. ... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... Aftershocks are earthquakes of smaller magnitude that follow a large quake. ...

The quake resulted from sudden vertical (15-20 feet) and right-lateral (35-40 feet) movement on the Lone Pine fault and part of the Owens Valley fault. These faults are part of a twin system of normal faults that run along the base of two parallel mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west and Inyo Mountains on the east flank of Owens Valley. This particular event created fault scarps from north of Big Pine, California (55 miles north of Lone Pine), to Haiwee Reservoir (30 miles south of Lone Pine). Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is mostly in eastern California. ... The Inyo Mountains The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. ... Big Pine is a census-designated place located in Inyo County, California. ...

Researchers later estimated that similar earthquakes occur on the Lone Pine fault every 3,000-4,000 years. However, the Lone Pine fault is only one of many faults on two parallel systems of faults mentioned above.

This earthquake also reportedly formed a small graben that later was filled by Diaz Lake. In geology, a graben is a depressed fault block bordered by normal faults. ...

Many geoscientists who have studied the area, theorize that quakes similar to the 1872 Lone Pine event, are responsible for creating Owens Valley (see Basin and Range Province for ideas on what triggers these quakes). Basin and Range index map - USGS The Basin and Range Province is a particular type of topography that covers much of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico that is typified by elongate north-south trending arid valleys bounded by mountain ranges which also bound adjacent valleys. ...

Reference

• Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley, Sharp, Glazner (Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula; 1997) ISBN 0-87842-362-1
• USGS web page about the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake

External links

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps