Oakland Urban Paths: Exploring the Hayward Fault

On Saturday, local historian and author Dennis Evanosky led Oakland Urban Paths on a walk exploring the Hayward Fault, as well as some other interesting bits of geology between the Redwood Heights Recreation Center and the Mormon Temple. We're in the early stages of using a registration system to get a better handle on the size of the walks, so instead of 125 people like we had a couple years ago when Dennis last led this walk for us, we were closed to a much more manageable 60 people (and 2 dogs).

We started at the rec center, then went past the nearby Redwood Heights Elementary School. Unfortunately, after the school was built, a trace of the fault was found to be very close by. To comply with a state law that wasn't yet in effect regarding the minimum distance between fault lines and schools, they tore down the multi-purpose building and removed part of the main building that was too close.

We also looked at a sag pond which is now an EBMUD reservoir, learned about 35th Avenue's role as a way to transport redwoods from the hills down to the harbor, and talked about the Gold Star Streets which were named for locals who died in WWI.

Along Rettig, we walked a peaceful stretch of road beside a stretch of Peralta Creek. It's peaceful because a landslide shut off access to the road, and it was decided to keep it closed after the cleanup.

After some climbing, we came to the site of the London Road Slide. This slow-moving slide in 1970 destroyed a section of London Road, along with 14 houses, but it could have been a lot more spectuclar because of the jet fuel pipeline that used to run through the area.

More climbing took us to the Mormon Temple, where we saw groups from several quinceañeras (a Latina celebration of a girl's 15th birthday) getting their pictures taken, and the beautiful gardens and fountain on the temple grounds.

Thanks to Dennis for leading the walk, and to everyone who came out for it. And thank you for your patience as we figure out the registration system. November's walk will be "Buffers and Boundaries," led by Ruth Miller. See the walk calendar for more information, and hope to see you on the paths!

Links

• Active Traces of the Hayward Fault USGS maps, plus a Google Earth tour of the fault
• Oakland Geology
• The Hayward fault in Redwood Heights
• 39th Avenue fault gauge revisited
• Rettig Canyon
• Oakland Underfoot
• Oakland Wiki

See the pictures individually here.

Oakland Urban Paths: Hayward Fault

Saturday we had a record turnout for an Oakland Urban Paths walk, led by local historian Dennis Evanosky. About 125 people showed up to explore the traces of the Hayward Fault. We were joined by Andrew Alden, who has led geology-based OUP walks before, including an exploration of another part of the Hayward Fault last year.

We started the walk at the Redwood Heights Recreation Center, then headed down to 39th Avenue. One of the few residents in the area in 1868 lived nearby, but the great earthquake of 1868 was felt all over the East Bay and beyond. It was estimated to have been between 6.8 and 7.0 magnitude, and the shaking last 42 seconds. The worst damage was in Hayward, and there were 30 deaths including four in San Francisco.

Along 39th is an EBMUD reservoir, which was originally a "sag pond" formed by a depression along the fault. From there we headed north across 35th Avenue where Dennis told us more about local history. Many of the streets in the area are named for veterans of WWI.

Then it was up to Rettig Avenue along Peralta Creek. Part of Rettig is closed to automobile traffic because the effects of a landslide. A neighbor from the area told us about the slide and subsequent efforts to stabilize the hillside. A little further down the creek we heard from another neighbor about the efforts to clean up the area around the creek and make it into a park.

Up the hill, we came to the Kitchener Court landslide. After heavy rains in 1970, the entire area slid. First it damaged 14 houses, and eventually expanded to 22 houses. An even bigger concern was a fuel line carrying jet fuel from refineries to the Oakland Airport. A similar accident in 1969(?) in Canyon, CA, (just east of Oakland) raised serious concerns about a repeat on a larger scale in Oakland.

Then it was up hill past the Mormon Temple. We'd been there before on the Oakmore Highlands walk back in March, but approached from the other direction.

After a long downhill (and losing a few people to an estate sale in an interesting house), we returned to our starting point. Thanks to Dennis for leading the walk, and to everyone and everywoof who came out for it. And thank you for your patience as we worked out the bumps with the new sound system. Your donations are what made that possible, and help us with the mission of educating people about the urban paths, stairways and walkways around Oakland.

On a related note, did you know that Oakland was ranked the 9th most walkable large city in the U.S.? The hills definitely bring down Oakland's score, but our beloved city is still a pretty darn walkable place. Oakland Urban Paths and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland are working to make it even more walkable and more livable. Thank you for your support in helping make that happen!

Additional Links:

map of our route (PDF)
Google Earth Tour of the Hayward Fault

Lots more pictures from the walk:

Oakland Urban Paths: Laurel to the Redwoods

Last Saturday 50 people joined Oakland Urban Paths for a walk, Laurel to the Redwoods. The large turnout was due in part to people coming to hear our guide for the walk, Dennis Evanosky, a local historian and writer who is extremely knowledgeable about Oakland and East Bay history.

We started the walk at Saint Lawrence O'Toole Catholic Church in the Laurel. The church was originally closer to where I-580 is now, but before the freeway came through, the church moved up the hill to its current location. Then we walked a short distance to Scheberies Used Cars for the first of our urban paths. While Dennis told us about MacArthur Boulevard and the freeway, Gerry Scheberies came over to the edge of the lot. He's been part of Oakland for a long time—since before the I-580 freeway was built. MacArthur Blvd. was part of a national plan for a road, intended to go from Mexico to Canada, but only the Oakland segment was built. See pictures and info from my visit 1.5 years ago.

We took a number of urban paths and more traditional sidewalks through the Upper Laurel neighborhood into Redwood Heights, both of which are full of lovely homes. Then it was a big uphill on Carson Street to George E. McCrea Memorial Park, home to the Oakland Casting Club. That's right, Oakland has casting ponds for people to practice their fly casting. The park also has trout ponds, but those are no longer used.

Then it was over highway 13 to Leona Heights, once site of the Laundry Farm Hotel. Named for the laundry operations that once filled the area, someone doubtless recognized that a name like Leona Heights Hotel would have more appeal, and the hotel was renamed. The original plan for the OUP hike was to go up the York Trail near Horseshoe Creek, but the heavy rains we got a while back had damaged the trail and bridges, so we just viewed the area from trailhead and heard about the redwoods.

Nearby we saw part of a quarry operation. What's left is an odd concrete tube, which rock was pushed down (later they used railed carts) and delivered to a crusher. That rock was used for railroads, including the Feather River Canyon.

Up another nearby canyon took us to an abandoned sulfur mine. The original miners were excited because they thought they'd found gold, but it turned out to be iron pyrite (fool's gold). But they soon discovered that the sulfur deposits there could be profitably mined instead.

We went up the nearby fire trail a ways, where we could see the old Chabot Observatory below. That was actually the second Chabot Observatory; the original was on 11th and Jefferson in Old Oakland and dated back to 1883. They moved to the Mountain Boulevard location in 1915 because of light pollution, but access to that became limited in 1977 because of seismic safety concerns. The current facility, the Chabot Space and Science Center along Skyline, opened in 2000. Further up the trail we saw the approximate location where one of the first maps of the Bay Area was drawn.

We walked back through the triangle between highway 13 and I-580, and saw Montgomery House, a home which was built by the Montgomery family for missionaries to stay in while they prepared to ship out on their mission trips. There's a small chapel on the grounds which is still in use, and we were told the house across the street was one of the earliest orphanages in Oakland.

We worked our way back to our starting point, and I at least was definitely tired—as advertised, this was a strenuous walk. Thanks to Dennis Evanosky and Paul Rosenbloom for leading us on the walk, and thanks to all who joined us. The OUP walk coming up in May will definitely be less strenuous.

More info:

• Oakland Geology - Sulfur Mine Creek
• Oakland Geology - Horseshoe Canyon Tramway
• Chabot Observatory History (PDF)
• Home of Peace

Lots more pictures from our walk:


See our route on Google Maps.

update: Check out the post by Nika about the walk.