Slide 5 of 35
Notes:
Effects of the July 10, 1996 rockslide
- The rock mass fell first onto a rock ramp which launched the material out into the air. The slide generated an unusual air blast that blew down nearly one thousand trees in the vicinity of the Happy Isles nature center.
- It was the air blast and falling trees that caused the injuries and fatality.
- Note that many of the trees were actually sheared off about 12 feet above the ground by the sudden lateral stress, rather than being blown over.
The following sources are helpful in understanding the characteristics of the rockslide and the air blast effects.
Unusual July 10, 1996, rock fall at Happy Isles, Yosemite National Park, California in GSA Bulletin; January 2000; v. 112; no. 1; p.75-85; 11 figures; 2 tables.
The Yosemite rock fall of July 10, 1996 in UC Berkeley Seismographic Station Events of Interest found at:
http://www.seismo.berkeley.edu.seismo/events_of_interest/yosemite/eoi_yos.html
