Wallace Creek along the San Andreas Fault recognized IUGS Geoheritage Site 264

I am happy to report that Wallace Creek along the San Andreas Fault has been recognized IUGS Geoheritage Site 264. Stan Finney encouraged Lisa Grant-Ludwig and I to put together the proposal and it was successful.

Above is B4 lidar topography data showing Wallace Creek in its glory.

Wallace Creek, formed through the interaction of tectonic and surface processes, vividly illustrates how plate boundary shear localizes as fault slip, accumulates over millennia, and is released in great earthquakes. The channel, gully, and alluvial fan complex acts as a series of offset markers along the San Andreas Fault.

Now part of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, Wallace Creek is protected by the US Bureau of Land Management and is accessible to thousands of visitors annually. Its clear and accessible landscape helps the public and scientists alike understand fundamental processes of plate boundary deformation and earthquake faulting.

Here is the slide deck that Stan used to present the site at the recent IUGS Geoheritage meeting: LINK

Here are a few more pictures from the slide deck:

Above is modified from Grant-Ludwig, et al., 2019 and Sieh and Jahns, 1984.

References:

• Grant Ludwig, L., S. O. Akciz, J. R. Arrowsmith, and J. B. Salisbury, 2019, Reproducibility of San Andreas Fault Slip Rate Measurements at Wallace Creek in the Carrizo Plain, CA, Earth and Space Science, 6, no. 1, 156–165, doi: 10.1029/2017EA000360.
• Liu‐Zeng, J., Y. Klinger, K. Sieh, C. Rubin, and G. Seitz, 2006, Serial ruptures of the San Andreas fault, Carrizo Plain, California, revealed by three‐dimensional excavations, J. Geophys. Res., 111, no. B2, 2004JB003601, doi: 10.1029/2004JB003601.
• Sieh, K. E., and R. H. Jahns, 1984, Holocene activity of the San Andreas fault at Wallace Creek, California, Geol Soc America Bull, 95, no. 8, 883, doi: 10.1130/0016-7606(1984)95%3C883:HAOTSA%3E2.0.CO;2.