Viewing our faults

Yesterday a friend and I took a sight-seeing trip around some of the more interesting parts of Northern California, particularly those prone to earthquakes. Yes, I'm currently a bit obsessed with earthquakes.

We stopped in Fremont, and saw this exhibit, which is part of the exposed Hayward fault. It's not the exact fault on which this week's earthquake happened, but they're all connected. The exhibit was really cool, but not exactly what I was expecting.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it didn't really look all that different from any other giant hole in the earth. I think that's why earthquakes are so interesting to me--they're so sneaky. You can't really see anything happening, but you can see the effects.

One of the guides at the Hayward Fault was particularly helpful, and took us out into the parking lot to see how the curb had been torn apart.

There were also two trees that seemed to be on top of the fault, and they were strangely twisted, as if from the force of the movement. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them, but I was glad that they were pointed out.

We also went to downtown Hayward, where you can see how earthquakes have messed with curbs and streets.

We finally drove up to Berkeley, and to the UC Berkeley campus where the stadium is built directly over the fault, running from goalpost to goalpost. I'm not sure if they're tempting fate or just don't think it's likely an earthquake will happen during a football game.

More appealing than the football stadium was the view from the Lawrence Hall of Science on the Berkeley campus. This picture really can't do the view justice. You can see Marin County, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and even some of the hills near San Jose.