Subsidence in California's Central Valley (IMAGE)

University of Nevada, Reno

Subsidence in California's Central Valley

Caption

This photo shows the approximate location of maximum subsidence in the United States, identified by research efforts of Dr. Joseph F. Poland (pictured). The site is in the San Joaquin Valley southwest of Mendota, Calif. Signs on the pole show approximate altitude of land surface in 1925, 1955, and 1977. Scientists have now found that the groundwater depletion has contributed to rapid uplift of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the California Coast Range as well as affected seismic activity on the San Andreas Fault.

Credit

Photo Courtesy USGS.

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