Miracle Hill Scarp and Pressure Ridge
April 08, 2006
Provided and copyright by: David Lynch
Summary authors & editors: David Lynch
The San Andreas Fault passes directly through the city of Desert Hot Springs, California. Hundreds of thousands of years of movement along the fault and compression across the plate boundary have raised Miracle Hill, a combinations fault scarp and pressure ridge, in the middle of town. In this picture looking south, Mountain View Drive cuts diagonally across the fault. The scarp is composed of Quaternary sand and gravel washed down from the Little San Bernardino Mountains, immediately north of the area. These ancient rocks are composed of Precambrian gneiss and mafic igneous complexes. The view from Miracle Hill is tremendous, and many luxury homes have been built here.
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