Ridgecrest, California - Christian Flores had travelled
more than 320 kilometres from San Diego to the Mojave Desert to visit
the latest Southern California tourist attraction.
There it was, on the hot asphalt of Highway 178 between Ridgecrest
and Trona: a gnarly, surprisingly wide scar, courtesy of one very
large earthquake. And just a few miles down the road lay another one
- caused by a second, even larger and more terrifying quake.
Flores couldn't wait to upload what he saw on his YouTube channel.
Since the Fourth of July, tourists, geologists and students have
converged on the once-desolate spot from far and wide, to see the
ruptures on Highway 178 caused by last week's magnitude 6.4 and 7.1
earthquakes. The Grand Canyon this is not - but the cracks were
sizable enough to make visitors gape.
Trucks, minivans and sedans slowed down to park on the gravel lining
the side of the highway. Families with young children hopped out.
Researchers with GPS devices set up their machinery. Others ventured
into the brown shrubbery as they followed the surface ruptures into
hilly terrain.
They held cameras and shot selfies in the middle of the road.
"I thought it would fare well online," Flores, 27, said of the cracks
as the early evening sun descended over the mountains. "I mean, how
often do you get an earthquake of this size?"
Flores picked up rocks he had found on the surface rupture as
souvenirs and placed them gently in the back of his car trunk.
As a dust devil whirled, Michelle Binion, 56, marveled at the rupture
caused by the first quake. She had driven with her husband to the
area from Rancho Cucamonga, determined to see the evidence of
nature's power.
"This is absolutely worth the drive," she said with a smile. "I think
as human beings we like to live on the edge. This fault really shows
you just how vulnerable we are."
Some of the cracks traveled across the highway and into the desert
landscape on either side.
It has been about 20 years since scientists have seen a quake of this
magnitude in California, said Cynthia Pridmore of the California
Earthquake Clearinghouse - a website where experts and quake novices
can share their observations.
Visitors cross Highway 178 next to a crack left on the road by an earthquake Sunday, July 7, 2019, near Ridgecrest, Calif. Picture: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
The clearinghouse has heard from researchers who believe that the
most notable surface rupture discovered so far - caused by the 7.1
quake that hit Friday - could measure about 45 kilometres in length.
But that won't be known until US Geological Survey and California
Geological Survey scientists who have access to the Naval Air Weapons
Station at China Lake report back.
In the meantime, sightseers have been posting on social media.
Geologists have been studying the cracks on the road. Others have
hiked into the desert to follow the snake-like, zigzag path.
The fault ruptures have enthralled residents of the communities
rocked over the last few days and those who have traveled from across
California.
On the road, at least, the giant cracks won't last.
By Sunday afternoon, the smell of tar permeated the area as workers
laboured to repair them. But construction crews and the closure of
one of Highway 178's two lanes did not deter people from showing up.
Ashley Hulett, who studied geology at California State University,
San Bernardino, came with two friends.
"This one is significant, it traces longer than the first one," she
said as she pointed at one crack.
"We lost the first rupture four to five hundred feet down, but this
second one goes over that ridge," Hulett said, gesturing away from
the road.
The large surface rupture caused by the 7.1 earthquake resulted when
the ground in the area shifted significantly, both vertically and
horizontally. Researchers are not sure yet which of the faults in the
Little Lake Fault Zone caused the earth to move, Pridmore said.
Water from a broken line runs down a crack on the ground in the aftermath of an earthquake along Highway 178 near Ridgecrest. California. Picture: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Dressed in brown boots, khaki shorts and a navy shirt, Heath
Williamson showed up looking a little like the late "crocodile
hunter," Steve Irwin.
The Australia native took a video of himself as he crouched low over
the fault in the middle of the road, narrating rapidly while pointing
the lens of his phone's camera at the crack on the highway.
He posted the videos on Facebook and Instagram, he said, so that
family and friends could see them.
"Mother Nature, she is just an amazing force," Williamson said after
he was done with his social media escapade.
The 47-year-old from Brisbane said he has spent the last 10 years
traveling between Australia and California for work.
On Saturday, he was on his way to Reno, Nevada, and decided to take a
detour to see what the earthquake damage looked like.
"This is wild country, it's so intriguing," he said.
As he stood on the road, Williamson wondered whether people who live
in the Golden State truly appreciate the threat of a major
earthquake.
He insisted that he came here not only out of curiosity, but to
spread a little bit of knowledge - through social media - about the
might of earthquakes.
"California is like a second home to me," Williamson said. "I'm
worried that Los Angeles has become very complacent."