We Built This City on Sunken Ships

kirkaracha — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:25:50 -0800

Ship to Shore. Much of downtown San Francisco, including everything in this photo, is built on landfill based on sunken ships that were abandoned during the Gold Rush (see the map linked at the bottom of the page). Notes on ships and wharves. 1852 map of downtown. There are markers along the original shoreline. Flickr pool. The ships weren't only used as landfill. The hull of the Arkansas was turned into the Old Ship Ale House. The hull of the Niantic was converted into a hotel. When the Niantic was dug up in 1978, excavators found bottles packed in straw that still contained champagne. The sunken ships occasionally turn up during construction projects. The downtown area is a seismic hazard zone that could liquify during an earthquake. (Much of the Marina is built on landfill based on rubble from the 1906 earthquake.)

It's Everybody's Fault

kirkaracha — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:57:20 -0800

"The Hayward Fault is locked and loaded. It is ready to fire at any time." The U.S. Geological Survey has a Google Earth-based "virtual helicopter tour" and other annotated views of The Hayward Fault. There's a 70% probability of a major earthquake hitting the San Francisco Bay Area before 2030, and Hayward is the most likely fault [PDF] for an earthquake (or is it?). Bad things will happen. Fortunately we're completely unprepared. [more inside]

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We Built This City on Sunken Ships

It's Everybody's Fault