Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
I might say, indeed, that the recklessness of the state blunts the keener feel-
ings and takes the edge from this calamity” (pp. 249-50).
Nature in California is at its most magnii cent and terrifying, with awesome
tectonic forces deep in the earth producing both the steep and rugged beauty
of the coast and the vast interior mountain ranges. Massive destruction from
high-magnitude earthquakes comes with the territory, as does cataclysmic
l ooding.
A critical element of living in a place like California is an awareness of
these natural disasters, and this requires a deep understanding of the natural
patterns and frequencies of these events. We have building codes today for
earthquake safety as well as city emergency plans. But are the millions of new
westerners really aware of the region's calamitous climate history? Most have
never even heard of the 1861-62 l oods, and, as we will explore in the coming
chapters, the 1861-62 l oods may not have been the worst that nature can
regularly dish out to the region. We will explore the evidence for similar, if
not larger, l oods that have occurred every one to two centuries over the past
two millennia in California. But i rst, we take a look at nature's l ip side with
examples of the worst historic droughts of the twentieth century, including
the Great Dust Bowl.
