Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation Talks: Great Basin Geology
Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation is sponsoring a presentation on “Great Basin Geology” on Monday February 8:
http://www.tmparksfoundation.org/
Location: The California Building at Idlewild Park, 75 Cowan Drive, Reno
Date: Monday February 8, 2016
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
NO RSVP NECESSARY! For more information, questions, or concerns, please email Jackie Meyer at jackie@tmparksfoundation.org
Guest Speakers:
Jim E. Faulds, Ph.D. (NBMG Director and State Geologist)
Christopher D. Henry, Ph.D. (NBMG Research Geologist)
Annie Kell, Ph.D. (Nevada Seismological Lab, Education/Outreach Seismologist)
“Did you know there were once active volcanoes in our area? What about the fault line running through Virginia Lake? Come find out about our region’s rich geology!” (TMPF website)
You are invited to join Jim Faulds, Chris Henry, and Annie Kell for free public lectures covering topics such as earthquake hazards, geothermal energy, and ancient volcanoes.
Living on the Edge in Western Nevada:
Our Rapidly Evolving Geologic Setting along a Developing Tectonic Boundary
…by Jim Faulds
Jim Faulds will give an overview of the geologic-tectonic setting of the region, discussing how this region contains faults related to the San Andreas plate boundary and is also being extended or stretched such that Nevada is the “fastest growing” state, tectonically speaking. He will briefly touch upon how this is relevant to some of our natural resources (e.g. geothermal) and also our geologic hazards.
Young Volcanoes in Western Nevada – Eastern California
…by Chris Henry
Chris Henry will talk about young volcanoes in western Nevada – eastern California, all of which people can visit. That’s partly young by geologic standards, i.e., only 1 million years old, but includes some young ones by human standards. Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area have lots of basaltic volcanoes as young as 1 million years, Soda Lakes near Fallon are less than 10,000 years possibly about 1500 years (so humans would have been around), and there’s geophysical evidence for igneous magma propagating upward below the north end of Lake Tahoe. Just across the border Lassen erupted in 1915, Mono Craters as recently as about 600 years ago, and the Long Valley caldera and Bishop Tuff 770,000 years ago. State lines are irrelevant to geology. The Long Valley caldera–Bishop Tuff eruption was a “supervolcano” (so like Yellowstone, which has been more commonly in the news) that, if repeated today (not predicting anything), would have much more impact on Nevada than on San Francisco or Los Angeles.
Earthquake History and Preparedness in Northern Nevada
…by Annie Kell
Northern Nevada has hosted numerous large earthquakes in recent history – including many in the Truckee Meadows. Though it has been many years since an event larger than M5.0 in the area, at one time the average recurrence for a M6.0 was 12 years! This presentation will include some details of the earthquakes that have occurred in the last 150 years, as well as what we can do to be prepared for the next big one.
You can also read the NSL Newsletter by Annie Kell here:
What’s Shaking? – January NSL Newsletter
http://www.seismo.unr.edu/Announcements