Landslides in China – Sichuan and Guangxi
Geologic Hazards
Couple narrowly avoids being crushed by coastal landslide
A couple walking on the beach narrowly missed being crushed by tons of sandstone crumbling from the cliff face. The incident took place in Dorset, UK at a beach that has been known for these […]
Rockman's Ramblings
There and Back Again…Ed Medley
Its been a while since I’ve posted in Rockman’s ramblings. But tonight as I try to wind down from a stressful drive back to Tucson from Phoenix on a very windy night, I feel the muse at work. Maybe the martini is helping too! Tonight was a meeting of the Arizona Section of the Association of Engineering and Environmental Geologists (AEG). The speaker was the 2009 AEG Jahns Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. Edmund Medley of Geosyntec Consultants.
He’s perhaps best known for coining the phrase “bimrocks” for block-in-matrix-rock. He’s also written and presented some stuff on terrestrial 3d photogrammetry for geological engineering. He’s an incredibly colorful, energetic, and genuine man who is a very entertaining and gifted writer and presenter. I was glad to meet him after trading a few emails previously. I’m not sure how he would feel about this comparison, but for some reason he reminded me of Bilbo Baggins. (Photo from EdMedley.com)
Project Related
Devil’s Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide
The Devil’s Slide Tunnel project is on schedule and on budget according to a news story at ABC7News.com from earlier in June. The video (shown after the break) has a few nice shots showing rock bolting, soil nailing at the portals, and the geologic mapping and laser scanning that happens at the tunnel face.
I also came across a very neat article about how the Ocean Shore Railroad Company was the first to try to cut into the slope along what is now PCH 1 at the Devil’s Slide back in the early 1900s. They were trying to connect the then rural farming community of Half-Moon Bay with San Francisco. The railroad fought the reoccurring landslide and serious rockfalls. Ocean Shore Railroad went bankrupt in 1922 and pulled up its rails, making room for the current highway. (Photo at left from halfmoonbaymemories.com)