Fairview Peak Earthquake Faults, Nevada

 Many times I've crossed Nevada on Highway 50 and east of Fallon seen the sign for "Earthquake Faults Six Miles" and an arrow pointing south. (Find it here on Google maps.) I've always been on a deadline and passed right by. But recently, we had a little extra time to spare, and I decided it was the day to go explore these earthquake faults.

Nevada has a long history of earthquakes. There are so many faults in the state (I'm speaking of the geologic variety here). The whole Basin and Range geologic province depends on faults for its interesting topography.

On December 16, 1954, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked the Great Basin. It's epicenter was near Fairview Peak, east of Fallon. Two other large earthquakes had already occurred earlier in the year, and another one followed a few minutes later a bit to the north. The result was more than a 20-foot rise in mountains in some places! Very few people live in this area, otherwise it would surely have made big news. The earthquake was felt as far west as Sacramento, with plaster falling in the capitol building in Carson City, Nevada. Pictures rattled and chimneys cracked in Fallon, Eureka, and Austin, Nevada. Waterlines broke in Lovelock and Gabbs. But overall, there was not much damage for the size of these earthquakes.

We were in the van, which has very low clearance, but the sign said that we should make it. So we puttered off, enjoying our audiobook (We Are Legion: We Are Bob--fun listen, we recommend it). We followed the signs up a spur road, and it eventually got so steep we couldn't go any further. We were almost to the parking lot, and no one else was in the area, so we got out and hiked up to the displacement. It was really obvious, even 60+ years later!

There was a little trail going up, so we followed it. (You can see how close we got the van to the parking area--almost!)

Don't fall off! Oh my, it must have been something to have been in the area. You can see a great photo of a new cliff next to a cabin on the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology blog. It also mentions some of the stories about the earthquakes.

The Online Nevada Encyclopedia website mentions that the earthquakes opened up large cracks in roadways, allowed huge boulders to tumble onto roads, and substantially affected farmers' irrigation wells. It also mentions that although the 1906 San Francisco earthquake had just three feet of displacement, these earthquakes caused up to 20 feet of displacement, and the fault scarps were 54 miles long.

Another good account of a road trip is on this virtual trip. A fun story is on the Looking for Detachment blog.

If you're into the geology behind it all, check out this 1996 article in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

It doesn't take too long to walk along the earthquake scarp, so before long we were headed back to the van. I loved the golden rabbitbrush.

I had to stop again to take a photo of it and Fairview Peak. You can see the moon ready to set behind the peak, along with some communications towers on the top of it. About midway down there's a jagged scar showing more of the earthquake scarp.

We had gained some elevation so had a really nice view looking down towards the Chalk Mountains.

This detour was well worth the time. Just thinking about the immensity of these earthquakes--and that more will be happening within our lifetimes, and probably in more populated areas--makes you want to be prepared. Or be lucky enough to be outside in the boonies when the next big one hits!

p.s. If you'd like to spend more time in this area, check out The Great Highway 50 Rock Tour from Fallon to the Fairview Peak Earthquake Faults, with a number of stops along the way. We might have to go look for Nevada wonderstone on our next trip.

Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area, Nevada

 Speeding along Highway 6 and 50 across the middle of Nevada at 70 mph, you see a sign for Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation Area and Interpretive Site. You've already been driving a long way from either Eureka or Austin, the two nearest towns, and it might be easy to continue on your way. But if you have a half hour (or more) to spare, it's well worth pulling over and checking this spot out. It takes you back to a much slower time.

About a quarter mile down a good gravel road is a parking area for the trailhead. You can pick up a very helpful trail guide and in just a couple minutes you're in front of petroglyphs.

The brochure says that the petroglyphs are typical of the Great Basin curvilinear style. The date they were carved and by whom is unknown. Unfortunately some dummies have vandalized the area, detracting from this old rock art. The horseshoe shapes are believed to be a female symbol.

 There are several panels of rock art along the cliff.

This panel has a lot of petroglyphs. The brochure says to note "the complex intersecting curved and straight lines." It does make you wonder what they were depicting!

 We took the spur out to the scenic overlook. It was so nice to stretch our legs. We often stop at the wonderful playground in Austin to do that, but this time we wanted to see something different.

 We were treated to some great views of the marvelous Great Basin. Nevada is the most mountainous state in the country, with over 300 mountain ranges. Traveling across the state means going over many mountain passes.

The kids had energy, so started running. It's getting harder to keep up with them!

We came to another wall with petroglyphs.

This rock art is very different from that found at Toquima Cave, which isn't that far away (at least by how the crow flies!).

We ended at a big boulder with more petroglyphs.

And, surprise! There's a little arch at the top of it.

This is a great place for a picnic, short walk, and there's even camping. But bring all the water you need, there is none available here. The kids enjoyed the stop and it was cool learning a little more about the history of the area.

Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes near Meadow, Utah

After visiting Meadow Hot Springs, it was time to check out the lava tubes near Tabernacle Hill. This is another location featured in the Millard County travel guide that I hadn't had a chance to visit. 

The day was getting late, but I knew that it wouldn't matter if we could find the entrance of the lava tubes, as we had helmets and headlamps for visiting underground. We didn't have very good directions to the lava tubes, and the roads aren't marked well, but fortunately we made it. And it was apparent we were going to have them all to ourselves (see photo above).

So, directions: From Meadow, Utah, interstate exit, head south on main street to center street and turn west. There's a sign for White Mountain. Continue on this road about 6 miles. It changes names to  W4000 S, S 4600 W, W 3900 S, S 6400 W. The important thing is to turn left at W 2300 S (this is not marked, and where it would be easy to go the wrong way; the turn is just before a big pivot (circular-irrigated field)). Go 1.8 miles, then turn left at the Lava tube sign, and go 2 miles on a bumpy road. Passenger cars could probably make it, but would have to go very slow. The lava tubes are at the end of the road, near an obvious turn around in front of Tabernacle Hill, a low hill (see photo above).

There is lava all over, but from the parking area, you can see some big entrances. We decided it was a nice enough night that we wouldn't set up the tent but would instead sleep in the back of the truck. That meant minimal set up time and let us get right into caving. We put on helmets, headlamps, and kneepads and set off towards the huge entrance to the west.

We found nice, easy walking passage, with lots of skylights.

Did I mention lots of skylights?


We kept going to see what else we would find. The kids liked being the leaders.

I was surprised by the size of the passages. These lava tubes at Tabernacle Hill are part of the Black Rock Desert (not to be confused with the one in Nevada). Here's an overview from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program.

We exited the lava tube and the kids wanted to head back, so we found a way to scamper up the lava to the top. But it was obvious that the lava flow continued, sans roof, towards the middle of the cinder cone.

Next we tried to get a campfire going, but had forgotten anything to start a fire with. Oops. So instead we looked up at the stars and I gave them a mini-constellation tour.

After they fell asleep, I went out with the good camera to get some night sky photos with the lava tubes.
 







It was tricky getting the lighting how I wanted (and I never did), but it was good practice and beautiful.

The next morning I woke up when it started drizzling. Gone were the almost clear skies. The kids didn't want to get up, so I climbed up Tabernacle Hill on my own. Looking to the north is an area of really, really black lava. This lava flow is the youngest in the state of Utah, only 600-720 years old. There were people nearby when it occurred! Wowzers. It's called Ice Springs lava flow or The Cinders. Far off in the distance is Pahvant Butte.


The view to the east was amazing. So much lava! I'd love to go back and explore more.

At the top of the ridge, I could look at the remnants of the cinder cone. This central crater used to hold a lava lake, according to the USGS website. I could see the entrances to more lava tubes and was eager to explore.

I walked back to the truck, woke up the kids, and we geared up. Here's another great entrance.

And the view the other way was where we had been the previous night.

We saw some cool spiders. At night, I also saw bats and a mouse (Peromyscus sp.). And there were also bird nests and woodrat sign. These lava tubes are home to a lot of creatures.

A cool orbweaver.

Unfortunately we found a lot of fire rings. Fires in the lava tubes are rather rude, as it's like having a fire in someone's home. The heat, air pollution, and general uncleanliness (we found a lot of garbage near the fire rings) are not a good way to treat the animals who live here. Plus, this whole area has been designated as an Area of Critical Environemental Concern (ACEC) by the BLM, so it should get some extra protection.

Please help keep these lava tubes a great place to visit plus a nice home for the native critters.


Something else that impressed me is that the skylights had such interesting life--all sorts of lichens and mosses that weren't at the surface. The protection of being in the lava tube, even though without a roof, allowed for so much more to grow.

Many species of lichens:

And cool mosses:

Back underground we found some interesting colors. Lava tubes aren't all black.

We explored until we had to leave to get to our next event. The kids were ready to go, but I could have spent a lot longer underground.

You can learn more about the amazing volcanic features in this area on the Utah Geological Survey Geosights website.

Here's an approximate route that we took through the lava tubes. We parked at the circle, then followed along the yellow line (not all in order, but you get the picture).

This is a fascinating place to visit, and I hope to return. I've been trying to find maps of the lava tubes but haven't been successful. If you know of any, please let me know. And if you visit, please treat these unique places with respect.

Moon rising over Tabernacle Hill lava tubes