The Martis Creek Dam is just outside of the town of Truckee California with a population of 16,000 people, but it is also upstream about 35 miles from Reno, Nevada the gambling town with a population of around 220,000. A newly discovered fault that crosses under the dam could potentially produce a 6.9 magnitude earthquake and potentially cause a failure of the structure. The fault was discovered from aerial LIDAR imagery analysis and confirmed and dated with paleoseismic trenching work done along various glacial terraces. [Source: Mail Online via AGC SmartBrief. Image: USACE via Mail Online]
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