ANNUAL FIELD TRIP

Prof. Christos Kyriakopoulos and Prof. Thomas Goebel led a group of eight CERI students on a 5-day field trip along the Southern San Andreas Fault (SSAF) system. 

The CERI team traveled along the SSAF, from Bombay Beach, CA, to the Mohave Desert, visiting multiple geologic sites and discussing earthquake-related physical processes. 

Some highlights included: exploring an SSAF geologic trench near Bombay Beach (Salton Creek), tracing the alignment of the SSAF with the Pushwalla Palms and Thousand Palms oasis, inspecting earthquake “pulverized” rocks, and exploring the historical Pallet Creek paleoseismological site along the San Andreas Mojave segment, observing the impressive Martinez Mountain rockslide, cooling their feet in a SAF generated sag pond, climbing pressure ridges, observing mud volcanoes in the Salton Sea geothermal area...and many other things.

I took the initiative to organize an annual field trip along the San Andreas Fault. Together with my colleague Thomas Goebel we led a group of CERI students on a 5-day field trip along the Southern San Andreas Fault (SSAF) system. The group followed the SSAF, with a diversion to visit the Elsinore Fault system, from Bombay Beach (the assumed southern "end" of the SAF) to the impressive displacement features observed in the Carrizo plain (Central California), visiting world class geologic sites and making observations on a variety of earthquake related physical processes. Some highlights included: Standing on top of the fault at the Carrizo plain (probably the most iconic SAF site), manually crushing “pulverized” fault rock to powder along the Mojave segment, cooling our feet in a sag pond, climbing pressure ridges, observing mud volcanoes in the Salton Sea geothermal area, exploring an SSAF geologic trench near Bombay Beach...and many other things.

See you next year with a new field trip!

Please check SCEC 2022 poster below: