Where We Are Today (9/12/98)
(on the eastern end of the 1905 Bulnay fault rupture)
Progress Report:
It's late Saturday night and we just wanted to give you a short update as to where we are. Because of weather and gasoline problems, we've altered our plans and have gone directly to the Bulnay fault. It was cold and extremely windy today, and we received our first dusting of snow. We are now planning to work from east to west along the main Bulnay rupture.
Geology:
To call the fault spectacular would be an understatement! In places the fault scarps are so fresh it looks like the earthquake happened yesterday. We are camping on the fault at a location where the 1905 offset appears to be about 10 m, and our tents are below trees that were tilted by the 1905 event. We will be spending tomorrow (Sunday) at this camp also, and will be excavating a trench and conducting a reconnaissance along the eastern end of the 1905 rupture. We'll fill you in with details of our observations tomorrow night, but will leave you with a couple of photographs for now:
View looking east of mole tracks and tension gashes along the Bulnay fault. Suzanne Hecker (left) and Dan Ponti (right), are standing on an alluvial fan surface that was vertically offset a small amount across the fault, in addition to the large strike-slip offset.
Exposure of the main Bulnay fault scarp (David Schwartz for scale). The scarp has not been altered much from the free-face that formed in 1905.
Miscellaneous:
On the drive up to the Bulnay fault, we stopped in Tosontsengel, which is the timber center of Mongolia, to look for diesel fuel. We were unsuccessful, but we did make a stop at a small hotel and market and were asked if we wanted to buy a fish for $100. The shopkeepers were very proud of this catch which measured nearly 2 meters in length. In case you think this is a fish story, the photo speaks for itself:
The boy is smiling, but we don't think the fish was too happy!
