Pacific Star, It's My Fault
A new multi-vintage blend of Syrah, Charbono and Carignane, commemorating the announcement
of the Pacific Star Fault,
named for and running directly under our winery. The fault
is a part of the San Andreas system and may
well be the northern extension of the Hayward Fault located
in the East Bay region of San Francisco.
$10.00
You can order directly from the winery by
emailing pacstar@mcn.org
or calling (707) 962-9463
(hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time)
Geologists from Franklin and Marshall College of Lancaster PA had been carefully studying our section of the Mendocino Coast for what appeared to be a previously unknown section of the San Andreas Fault. It turns out their observations were correct. On April 19,
2006, at the 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference of the Seismological Society of America, geologist Dorothy Merritts PhD. announced the discovery of a new fault, which has been named the Pacific Star Fault in honor of our winery under which is passes.
The story began two years ago when geologists came to the winery and asked Sally’s husband, Robert if they could look around for evidence of a fault. Robert, who was geology major in college, had noticed before what he thought was a fault (albeit an old, inactive one) on the western edge of the property. When he showed it to them, their eyes grew as big as saucers. It was not an old inactive fault, but a striking cross section of the fault they had guessed might be here.
The fault has three visible sections, each running parallel to the San Andreas Fault, which is located some 8 miles west of the winery under the Pacific Ocean. According to Dr. Merritts, the fault has moved an average of 10mm / year, which is about half an inch. No movement has taken place for a number of years, but evidence shows it has moved about 1300 meters in 130,000 years. Give or take a few feet, that’s a mile.
For more information contact Robert for a geology lesson. |
