P.O. Box 1592
Forestville, CA 95436-1592
Phone: (707) 579-3142
Member: IQTVRA/BAQTVRA
Title : Rio Nido Landslide
Location of pano : Sonoma County, California
440 x 240 [325kb]
Wrinkle 2, March 20, 1998, 11:00 AM (PST)
Global Wave Shoot
On February 7, 1998, the Russian River hamlet of Rio Nido, in Sonoma County, California gained national attention following a catastrophic landslide attributed to record El Nino rainfalls. The sudden debris flow carried an estimated 15,000 yards of mud, rocks, and trees into the residential canyon below. The debris flow’s speed was estimated at 30 miles per hour, and homes in its path were either pushed off their foundations, or partially submerged within the arriving mass. An additional 150,000 yards, (ten times the original slide volume,) remains at risk for partial or total failure by what is described as a ‘rotational block failure.’ At the time of this shoot, a total of 140 homes remain under mandatory evacuation, and 30 of these are likely to be permanently condemned due to the continued hazard. The mix of fallen redwood and fir trees, some over 100 years old, denotes the extraordinary nature of this El Nino event. The Rio Nido Slide has recently been featured by both the CBS show, '48Hours,' and 'Time Magazine,' as well as ongoing coverage by various news agencies. After being declared a National Disaster Area, it has also inspired personal visits from Vice President Al Gore, California's Senator Barbara Boxer, and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, among others.
Some technical stuff:
Pano window size: 440X240
Digital Photos from Olympus D-600L @ 1024X1280
Kaidan QPX-2 Pano Head
Apple QTVRAS 1.0, Adobe PS, Olympus C-2.1ME
Mac PPC 6400/200