A guidebook to a fault

David Lynch (not that David Lynch) was fascinated by the notorious San Andreas Fault in California and sought to explore it. To his astonishment, he found that no complete guidebook to the faultline existed.

Lynch explored the fault, a source of earthquake anxiety in the California and inspiration to scores of bad disaster movies, and self-published a book, “Field Guide to the San Andreas Fault,” Inland Press-Enterprise columnist Mark Muckenfuss reports.

Route 66 connects with the fault north of San Bernardino.

Just past Devore, on old Route 66, Lynch likes to make a stop at Blue Cut. Here, he says, is one of the points where the geology makes the fault all too evident.

“To the south is the blue-gray Pelona Schist and half a mile north of there, the rocks are completely different,” he says, noting the sandstone prominent in such places as the Mormon Rocks.

“Those rocks could not have been formed together; they had to be brought together,” he adds. “The Pelona Schist has brought material all the way from essentially Arizona.”

If you want the book so you can do your own fault-finding, you can order it here. Here’s a summary:

See and touch the world’s most famous fault on one of twelve easy day trips between Cape Mendocino and the Mexican Border. The book includes mile-by-mile road logs, GPS coordinates for hundreds of fault features and accurate fault coordinates (± 100 ft). Many of the annotated routes have side trips to seldom visited locales. There are complete geologic explanations and a glossary. The day trips are relaxing and uncrowded, perfect for family getaways. And the scenery is spectacular. Here’s a chance to get up close and personal with the San Andreas Fault. No 4WD needed. Full color, 210 pages, 140 figures and photographs. Spiral bound to lay flat for easy reading in the car. Also available on CD. Book: $39.95, CD (The entire book as a PDF file): $19.95

If 40 bucks sounds like a lot, keep in mind it’s loaded with color photos, which jacks up the price of any book.

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