How an ‘ancient landslide’ keeps threatening a railroad, homes in San Clemente
Landslides are common in the U.S. but often they are not as dramatic and destructive as they are in the Mojave Desert or the Black Hills in South Dakota. An example: As a giant part of a rock cliff overhang collapsed, burying much of a subdivision, residents of a south San Clemente home were evacuated Tuesday.
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is concerned about landslides. “We are still trying to figure out just what a landslide is,” she said.
A massive landslide in April destroyed homes, businesses and railroad tracks in San Clemente.
“The San Tersito earthquake of 1906 has the dubious distinction of causing the most powerful landslide in the history of the state of California. The landslide struck as a magnitude-7.9 earthquake shook the area just five minutes into the morning of April 20, 1906,” said Robert S. Stevens, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The huge landslide occurred near the junction of the Santa Ana and San Clemente rivers.
The geologist explained: “The rock that collapsed from the overhang was a layer of lava from the Kachina Mine in Yuma, Arizona, called the White Wash, which is actually a series of fault zones. The fault zones are the most active fault zones in the California desert. The fault zones are made by overlapping fault bands and are not the easiest place for a rock to collapse.
“When you look at a fault zone, you have to ask why this particular area is at fault.”
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is concerned about landslides. “We are still trying to figure out just what a landslide is,” she said.
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is concerned about landslides. “We are still trying to figure out just what a landslide is,” she said.
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is concerned about landslides. “We are still trying to figure out just what a landslide is,” she said.
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is concerned about landslides. “We are still trying to figure out just what a landslide is,” she said.
Sue Ann White, of San Clemente, said she is
