California Earthquake near Mattole Campground

[Mike Lewis]

This morning there was a strong earthquake in Humboldt County near the remote Mattole campground I stayed at in early March 2020. When I was there I cut my visit short due to concerns about tsunamis; I would be in panic mode if I were there now (though the article says there is no tsunami danger). I'll be sure to download the MyShake app the next time I visit California.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...rnia-rcna62522

Note that the timestamp on the article is incorrect. I read this article at 6:10 a.m. CST, which would be 4:10 a.m. PST.

[Mike Lewis]

Never mind-- the article says the quake occurred after 5:30 a.m. ET. I missed that part. It's early.

[Bobbie54]

My daughter's family felt it. They are in McKinleyville. Luckily up on a hill so no tsunami worries most of the time, especially since she used to live down on the flats in Arcata and once she called to tell me there was an earthquake with a tsunami alert and asked what she should do. I told her go to the highest spot she could get to right now. She said, she thought she would call her ex instead, who told her the same thing. She still didn't go!. Luckily it did not pan out.

[Mike Lewis]

When I was at Mattole I worried about tsunamis. There could be an earthquake in Japan, I thought, and ten hours later I'd get washed away without any warning. I stayed only a couple of days.

[marsman]

Mike,

If you were on top of one of those hills you would be fine. As a geologist I can tell you there are records in the sedimentary rocks on the west coast of tsunamis that exceeded 100 feet in height but these are very very rare. A tsunami like the one that hit Fukashima would not bury those hills in the picture.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by marsman

Mike,

If you were on top of one of those hills you would be fine.

There was a very steep hill nearby the campground from which I took that photograph. I took the steep road up that hill with my truck during the daytime until I lost my nerve, being a Floridian. If I had felt the shaking at 2:30 a.m. or thereabouts I would have attempted it, but I might have driven off the hill in the dark.

The Mattole campground itself is right on the beach. A tsunami generated by a Japanese earthquake would have taken me and others there completely by surprise. That is, unless there is some kind of tsunami warning system that I don't know about. Maybe the MyQuake app covers this situation as well.

Soon after this earthquake occurred the USGS said it was unlikely to generate a tsunami. As a geologist, please tell us how they knew that.

[Tosh]

there is a pretty robust tsunami monitoring network in the pacific


The Warning System | Pacific Tsunami Museum


Whether or not a quake generates a tsunami depends on the nature of the earth movement under water. up/down motion may create a tsunami; side/side movement will probably not

[Mike G]

I think all Californians hold involuntary membership in the Quakers!

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I think all Californians hold involuntary membership in the Quakers!

Or they could be members of The Quakers offshoot group, The Shakers.

[Bobbie54]

Well, yes, there is a warning system but it isn't audible everywhere. I get tsunami alerts by email and if the tsunami originates near enough, I'd feel the quake. (I'm in Washington.) Local quake, large enough to generate a tsunami, run upstairs and hope they are right that the house could withstand it. Cascadia quake, after the long shaking period stops, head for the top of the hill and keep going as high as you can until it- and the second and third waves hit. Japanese quake- I'll read my email before it hits. I suspect in a campground you'd be told to leave before a Japanese wave hits.

[Mike Lewis]

The nearest town to the Mattole campground is Petrolia, and it is about six miles away over a very rough road. The campground has 14 sites and is right on the beach. It is managed by BLM as part of King Range. If you like scenic isolation this place is for you.

But don't go when I did, at the beginning of March. It's too cold and blustery then. Also, be sure to access Mattole from Ferndale to the north. It is a twisty white-knuckle drive, and that is the good road. I took another way in out of ignorance and my poor trailer got the roughest shaking it has ever experienced. It didn't deserve that abuse.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Ah, the Lost Coast. Glorious remote area with almost no population. The road from the south end is even wilder