Category: Geography

The Great Quake – 1906 to 2006

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Carl Nolte:

San Francisco, the ‘Paris of America,’ was booming with industry and culture — a Gold Rush city built in an instant. It was also a calamity waiting to happen.

This is the first of a 10-part retelling of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake — and its aftermath.

Samuel Dickson was 17 years old, almost a man, that April night in San Francisco 100 years ago. He and a friend had gotten standing-room tickets for the opera and heard the great Caruso sing.

The night was clear and beautiful, so after the opera they went to the top of Telegraph Hill to look at the city — the lights of the Barbary Coast, the steeple of Old St. Mary’s Church on California Street, the rounded domes of Temple Emanu-El on Sutter, the alleys of Chinatown and the distant gilded dome of City Hall.

Somewhat related: I wrote about my Loma Prieta (The “Pretty Big One”) experience here.

The Mishap at Mammoth

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Bob Lefsetz:

My inbox and voice mail are filling up with questions/concerns re the tragic accident at Mammoth Mountain today.

With 79″ of new snow, the ski patrol had to do a great deal of maintenance work to make the hill safe for skiing. In clearing up the Face of 3, a group of ski patrollers went to adjust a fence around a volcano vent on the far side of the slope. The ground collapsed and they were trapped and the latest report is three people died. It is not clear whether the fall killed them or the lack of oxygen or the volcanic gases.

It was very strange. One started to hear whispering. And then the upper lifts were running but they wouldn’t let anybody board. And then they stopped the upper lifts completely.

Different stories were circulated. One, that the snow just collapsed. Two, that by covering up the vent previously, the gases found a new exit and a larger area was rendered unstable.

Usha Lee McFarling notes the risks for those who work and play atop one of the nations largest active volcanic systems. Steve Hymon and Amanda Covarrubias have more.

Mammoth has had 638 inches (!) of snow this year. The lifts will be open until July 4th!

Mammoth Mountain

City of Madison Comprehensive Plan

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Kristian Knutsen:

A couple of hours before the council meeting in the same room, they attended a presentation about the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan. This plan, mandated by state law, and a work in progress over the last couple of years, will serve as a long-term roadmap for the city’s infrastructural future. It is also up for a vote on Tuesday, Dec. 13 by the full council, though it is likely to be referred to a subsequent meeting in early January.