OK, a few things to catch up on. This July I was involved in a FEMA Region VIII (intermountain west region) Interagency Steering Committee meeting (aptly named "RISC") in Salt Lake City. I was asked to give a talk on earthquakes at the meeting and organized a field trip to view the Wasatch fault in person. The trip was by far the largest I've led (over 150 people) and was really popular:
As a reward (at least in my mind), I was asked to participate in a flight over Salt Lake Valley, following the trace of the Wasatch fault. We had two blackhawk helicopters, and with the doors wide open flew at 500 feet for about 45 minutes. I took about 200 photos, some of the best are below.
The fight was basically an exercise for what would happen after a large earthquake along the Wasatch front. FEMA, state, and county representatives would likely fly over the fault rupture (break at the surface) to survey the damage to infrastructure, and where I come in: to assess the potential for earthquakes on different parts of the fault, review how the earthquake ruptured the ground, and determine where to send field teams for a more thorough scientific response. It was hard not to be a little giddy during this whole thing as it really was a dream come true. But in the end, it was a serious exercise (kind of).
My seat, staring at the back of the pilot's head. We had internal "comm's" (radios) and I was given a feed to the pilot - in case I wanted to change our route mid course!
We first flew north, with the intent of surveying any damage to the oil refineries. The Wasatch fault is along the base of the mountains in the far left part of the image.
From there we followed the trace of the fault south, circled over the three hospitals all located within spitting distance of the fault (which could be a real issue) and then moved on toward Parley's Canyon. This photo is looking directly west toward downtown Salt Lake City. The fault is right by the prominent Z curve in the road. Chip and Audrey can probably locate their old house.
Flying toward Parley's Canyon we about flew right over our house! Unfortunately, Finn was naping at the time. Our house is in the color part of the black and white photo above.
Flying up Parley's was amazing. It's a pretty narrow canyon and the gusty winds made it pretty exciting.
Mountain Dell reservoir. One question is whether or not some of the large reservoirs in the Wasatch Range will be affected by a large earthquake.
Once out of Parley's we continued south, past Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and then out into the center of the valley. Here is a shot of Little Cottowood Canyon (center-left) and Bells Canyon (center).
Last one, flying back into the airport, we had a great view of downtown Salt Lake City. The fault runs left to right, where the roads suddenly go steeply uphill in the upper-center of the photo.
As a reward (at least in my mind), I was asked to participate in a flight over Salt Lake Valley, following the trace of the Wasatch fault. We had two blackhawk helicopters, and with the doors wide open flew at 500 feet for about 45 minutes. I took about 200 photos, some of the best are below.
The fight was basically an exercise for what would happen after a large earthquake along the Wasatch front. FEMA, state, and county representatives would likely fly over the fault rupture (break at the surface) to survey the damage to infrastructure, and where I come in: to assess the potential for earthquakes on different parts of the fault, review how the earthquake ruptured the ground, and determine where to send field teams for a more thorough scientific response. It was hard not to be a little giddy during this whole thing as it really was a dream come true. But in the end, it was a serious exercise (kind of).
My seat, staring at the back of the pilot's head. We had internal "comm's" (radios) and I was given a feed to the pilot - in case I wanted to change our route mid course!
We first flew north, with the intent of surveying any damage to the oil refineries. The Wasatch fault is along the base of the mountains in the far left part of the image.
From there we followed the trace of the fault south, circled over the three hospitals all located within spitting distance of the fault (which could be a real issue) and then moved on toward Parley's Canyon. This photo is looking directly west toward downtown Salt Lake City. The fault is right by the prominent Z curve in the road. Chip and Audrey can probably locate their old house.
Flying toward Parley's Canyon we about flew right over our house! Unfortunately, Finn was naping at the time. Our house is in the color part of the black and white photo above.
Flying up Parley's was amazing. It's a pretty narrow canyon and the gusty winds made it pretty exciting.
Mountain Dell reservoir. One question is whether or not some of the large reservoirs in the Wasatch Range will be affected by a large earthquake.
Once out of Parley's we continued south, past Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and then out into the center of the valley. Here is a shot of Little Cottowood Canyon (center-left) and Bells Canyon (center).
Last one, flying back into the airport, we had a great view of downtown Salt Lake City. The fault runs left to right, where the roads suddenly go steeply uphill in the upper-center of the photo.
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2 comments:
Awesome photos and experience! You are such a guru. :) Those hills look so little in the last photo, but they sure made me sweat riding my bike up them daily for school a few years ago. I also particularly love the B&W one of LLC and Bells- we might need to get a copy of that. :)
Great photos! Our old house was just barely off the photo. During a quake I wouldn't want to be under the reservoir to test it's strength. I think I saw a crack.
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