report

Assignment:

Create a geologic hazard assessment of the place where you live, starting with the county in which you live, then focus in on the specific neighborhood/community (e.g. if you live in Lakewood, start by analyzing LA County, then focus in on, basically, the street on which you live). The assessment needs to include

• Expected damage type, cause, and magnitude of hazards we have studied in class related to

  • Earthquakes

  • Mass wasting

  • Floods

  • Volcanoes

• Discussion of how you determined the potential damage, drawing on information you learned in class from labs and experiments, and from supplemental information you found from research

• Figures that help you communicate this information

  • Location figure showing

    • The area of the state on which you are focusing

    • The county on which you are focusing

    • The neighborhood on which you are focusing

  • Type of hazard in area

    • Remember that earthquake shaking has a different effect on compacted, hard rock than unconsolidated or saturated sediment. Be sure to identify why your area is more or less stable than nearby areas in the county

    • Flooding risks are higher downstream of locations that get high precipitation and that are low-lying or flat. Be sure to analyze topography to support your assessment (for all hazards, not just flooding)

      • Flooding can be caused by natural disasters other than heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers – what is an example of flooding that could have devastating effects on coastal communities? What would cause such a flood to occur?

    • There are many types of mass wasting, and you may not live in a zone that is at risk from landslides. Explain why that is. Or explain why your area is at risk for mass wasting.

    • Are we at risk from hazards associated with a volcanic eruption?

• Recommendations on how you think damage to your home can be mitigated with respect to all the potential hazards you discuss.

  • Does your home have any such mitigations in place currently? How did you find that out?

• References used must be credible scientific papers or government information

  • Must be cited in your text

  • Include a reference page at the end of the assessment

Here are helpful websites:

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/earthquakes/Pages/index.aspx

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/landslides/Pages/Index.aspx

https://water.usgs.gov/floods/

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/Tsunami/Inundation_Maps/Pages/index.aspx

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/calvo/