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Olancha, California is located in the Inyo County, on route 395 with an elevation of 1,115m. Olancha has had a total of 5334 earthquakes since 1931, the largest occurring in 1998 with a magnitude of 5.2. Owens Valley, is located northeast of Olancha consisting mostly of dry, arid saline lakebed. October the 3^rd 2009 at 01:16 UTC marked the first earthquake of the “triple shock” to come, matching the high magnitude of the 1998 earthquake. Over a 48 hour period three earthquakes, considered to be of “moderate size” took place in the Owens Valley, in-between Olancha and Keeler. The three shocks had magnitudes of 5.2, 5.0 and 4.9 respectively, accompanied by smaller earthquakes between each. The Olancha earthquake Sequence initiated widespread liquefaction, within the 1.2km area in Owens Valley. This resulted in ‘horizontal ground deformation’, still present in the current landscape.

Tectonic Setting

California is made from twelve varying geomorphic provinces. East of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range lays Owens Valley, the long depression town of population 192. This composition of California gives it unique topography, inclusive of the highest and lowest points of the Unites States, Mount Whitney and Death Valley. The San Andreas Fault (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Andreas_Fault) is a transform boundary, which lies between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate and extends 1200 km. A transform boundary in the lithosphere means that two plates create a ‘fracture zone’ and rub against one another, causing stress and resulting in an earthquake. California is located above the San Andreas Fault, and causes the majority of Californias Earthquakes, inclusive of the Olancha Earthquake Series in 2009. Owens Valley (Eastern California) includes both boundaries from the Sierra Nevada Region and the Great Basin, hence becoming susceptible for liquefaction and plate movement. The Sierra Nevada region particularly, allows for the plate to lift oceanic crust resulting in large salt masses and moist air pockets, generating further instability in the region. There are many theories about the origin of the structural landscape of the Owen Valley, a widely reported, and evidence based one being that the tectonic setting is due to “volcanic-tectonic depressions” Geographical studies have describes Olancha as lying on “the backbone of California”, and is therefore at high risk of natural disasters occurring.

Effects (Liquefaction)

Seismically induced liquefaction during the Olancha Earthquake series in 2009 was the dominating effect on the surrounding landscape. . Liquefaction acts in accordance with fluid dynamics, thus turning solid matter into liquid due to surrounding environmental factors. For example sand boiling, ground cracking and lateral spread, leading scientists and architects to invest their time in creating surfaces, which counteract and/or are non-liquefiable. The primary factors contributing to the land liquefaction was due to the Tectonic setting, and extreme climates that California demonstrates. The Earthquake that caused the widespread liquefaction from the series, was the first shock, of magnitude 5.2, which was unusual for liquefaction to occur at this magnitude, as scientists hypothesised using the “Seed-Idriss Procedure”(Seed et al.1983, Tokimatsu et al. 1994, Holzer et al. 2010, Cao et al. 2011). The loss of stiffness and strength in soils and sand creates damage to the foundations of buildings and infrastructure during an earthquake. Shallow liquefaction is the most destructive, alongside a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. The depth of the Olancha Earthquake Series (2009) Liquefaction was approximately 3m in depth (Huang & Yu, 2013) causing the surface of the land to change its physical composition and remain in this formation to this current day.

Research/ Reconstruction

The small population (192) in Olancha meant that the Earthquake of highest magnitude on October 3^rd did not cause any deaths or damage to the sparse surrounding landscape. The continuity of the surface in Owens Valley allowed for the earthquake shock to travel and evidently be felt in Merced, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (Developments in Quaternary Sciences. 15: 447–462. 2011-01-01) The arid landscape has become a place for research, such as scientist and geologists instigating what caused the high level of liquefaction, when it is usually not caused by earthquakes with a magnitude less then 6. In the article ‘Engineering Geology’, a conclusion as too why liquefaction was cause in the Olancha Earthquake series is derived, “Liquefaction during small magnitude earthquakes presumably depends on the presence of either or both very susceptible soil and anomalously high ground motion”. The use of paleoliquefaction, alongside experimental design such as the “Seed-Idriss Procedure” in the Owen Valley Region, California has provided scientists as to why the liquefication occurred at a 5.2 magnitude.

Olancha, California is located in the Inyo County, on route 395 with an elevation of 1,115m. Olancha has had a total of 5334 earthquakes since 1931, the largest occurring in 1998 with a magnitude of 5.2. Owens Valley, is located northeast of Olancha consisting mostly of dry, arid saline lakebed. October the 3^rd 2009 at 01:16 UTC marked the first earthquake of the “triple shock” to come, matching the high magnitude of the 1998 earthquake. Over a 48 hour period three earthquakes, considered to be of “moderate size” took place in the Owens Valley, in-between Olancha and Keeler. The three shocks had magnitudes of 5.2, 5.0 and 4.9 respectively, accompanied by smaller earthquakes between each. The Olancha earthquake Sequence initiated widespread liquefaction, within the 1.2km area in Owens Valley. This resulted in ‘horizontal ground deformation’, still present in the current landscape.

Tectonic Setting

California is made from twelve varying geomorphic provinces. East of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range lays Owens Valley, the long depression town of population 192. This composition of California gives it unique topography, inclusive of the highest and lowest points of the Unites States, Mount Whitney and Death Valley. The San Andreas Fault (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Andreas_Fault) is a transform boundary, which lies between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate and extends 1200 km. A transform boundary in the lithosphere means that two plates create a ‘fracture zone’ and rub against one another, causing stress and resulting in an earthquake. California is located above the San Andreas Fault, and causes the majority of Californias Earthquakes, inclusive of the Olancha Earthquake Series in 2009. Owens Valley (Eastern California) includes both boundaries from the Sierra Nevada Region and the Great Basin, hence becoming susceptible for liquefaction and plate movement. The Sierra Nevada region particularly, allows for the plate to lift oceanic crust resulting in large salt masses and moist air pockets, generating further instability in the region. There are many theories about the origin of the structural landscape of the Owen Valley, a widely reported, and evidence based one being that the tectonic setting is due to “volcanic-tectonic depressions” Geographical studies have describes Olancha as lying on “the backbone of California”, and is therefore at high risk of natural disasters occurring.

Effects (Liquefaction)

Seismically induced liquefaction during the Olancha Earthquake series in 2009 was the dominating effect on the surrounding landscape. . Liquefaction acts in accordance with fluid dynamics, thus turning solid matter into liquid due to surrounding environmental factors. For example sand boiling, ground cracking and lateral spread, leading scientists and architects to invest their time in creating surfaces, which counteract and/or are non-liquefiable. The primary factors contributing to the land liquefaction was due to the Tectonic setting, and extreme climates that California demonstrates. The Earthquake that caused the widespread liquefaction from the series, was the first shock, of magnitude 5.2, which was unusual for liquefaction to occur at this magnitude, as scientists hypothesised using the “Seed-Idriss Procedure”(Seed et al.1983, Tokimatsu et al. 1994, Holzer et al. 2010, Cao et al. 2011). The loss of stiffness and strength in soils and sand creates damage to the foundations of buildings and infrastructure during an earthquake. Shallow liquefaction is the most destructive, alongside a 5.2 magnitude earthquake. The depth of the Olancha Earthquake Series (2009) Liquefaction was approximately 3m in depth (Huang & Yu, 2013) causing the surface of the land to change its physical composition and remain in this formation to this current day.

Research/ Reconstruction

The small population (192) in Olancha meant that the Earthquake of highest magnitude on October 3^rd did not cause any deaths or damage to the sparse surrounding landscape. The continuity of the surface in Owens Valley allowed for the earthquake shock to travel and evidently be felt in Merced, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (Developments in Quaternary Sciences. 15: 447–462. 2011-01-01) The arid landscape has become a place for research, such as scientist and geologists instigating what caused the high level of liquefaction, when it is usually not caused by earthquakes with a magnitude less then 6. In the article ‘Engineering Geology’, a conclusion as too why liquefaction was cause in the Olancha Earthquake series is derived, “Liquefaction during small magnitude earthquakes presumably depends on the presence of either or both very susceptible soil and anomalously high ground motion”. The use of paleoliquefaction, alongside experimental design such as the “Seed-Idriss Procedure” in the Owen Valley Region, California has provided scientists as to why the liquefication occurred at a 5.2 magnitude.