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Dixie Valley

In central Nevada, looking east across to the Clan Alpine Range. Mt. Augusta (9966 ft/3038 m) is the high snowcapped peak at the left. The Clan Alpines are not usually this snow-covered; it's been a wet year!
Dixie Valley is an asymmetric graben, a fault-bounded trough where the faulting on the west side (i.e., here) is more active. The Stillwater Range, which defines the west side of the valley, is being uplifted with respect to the valley floor. The fault movement is ongoing to this day; in December 1954, a rupture along the range front here caused an enormous earthquake (Richter magnitude ~ 7.4) and left a fault scarp 10-15 ft high (~3-5 m). The quake would have caused tremendous damage in a populated area; as it was, no one was injured and the only damage was a toppled outhouse! This area is part of what's called the Central Nevada Seismic Belt, a north-south trending zone where other large earthquakes have occurred historically. I'll post pix of some of the fault scarps at some point.

And no, I haven't ID'd the bird on the snag!
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11 comments

Pam J said:

LAND IN MOVEMENT
5 years ago ( translate )

slgwv replied to Pam J:

Geology in action!
5 years ago ( translate )

William Sutherland said:

Extraordinary capture!

Admired in:
www.ipernity.com/group/tolerance
5 years ago ( translate )

Don Barrett (aka DBs… said:

Looks like a robin to me...

Wonderful picture, I love those very long shots of emptiness in Nevada.
5 years ago

slgwv replied to Don Barrett (aka DBs…:

Must be spring! ;)
5 years ago ( translate )

Roger (Grisly) said:

Wonderful landscape and a terrific capture Steve, thanks for the infomation.
5 years ago

slgwv said:

Thanks, everyone! It's an interesting area.
5 years ago ( translate )

Andy Rodker said:

Great shot and notes!
5 years ago

slgwv replied to Andy Rodker:

Thanks, Andy!
4 years ago

Gudrun said:

I like the bit about the toppled outhouse;-) If only all earthquake prone areas were as sparsely populated as this...
4 years ago

slgwv replied to Gudrun:

Out here you can just marvel at the geology and not worry about the destruction!
4 years ago