Earthquake

April 25, 2021

Sunday morning coffee was interrupted by a loud noise that led to a rumbling ripple that flowed through the house! Every bit of metal piping rattled in protest as the house swayed just a bit on it's foundation. I looked at our friend John Huninghake and said, "What the hell was THAT?"

With wide eyes and a soft slow, one word response, he said "Earthquake".

I thought, for sure, that we'd been hit by a truck. But as John's response sunk in, I realized he must be right; I was experiencing my first earthquake. Immediately, both Dave and John began searching the internet to see if there was any information available. Within minutes, we found posts that reported a 3.8 mag quake within walking distance of where we are staying in Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe.

We called this place "Home" 

I did a bit of research and learned that their are three faults under Lake Tahoe including the prominent North to South trending fault zone at Dollar Point, West Tahoe, just down the road. It runs deep under the Lake, submerged from Emerald Bay to McKinney Bay, then it continues to Dollar Point.

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Geologists believe that the three faults beneath the lake are capable of creating a 71 magnitude quake which could lead to a lake tsunami over 30 feet. Luckily, the risk of this happening over the next 50 years is only 3%. Experts recommend, however, if you feel a severe tremor lasting more than 10 seconds, you should sprint upwards at least 30 feet.

Once was enough for me. Although it was relatively mild, I can now say I experienced an Earthquake. Only 10 days later, on May 6th, another quake occurred 12 miles NW of Truckee, CA. It was a 4.7 mag! Ok, enough already!