Mud Creek from June 13 to October 12, 2017

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year. By analyzing overlapping photos, they made precise maps of the slopes and calculated volumes of material lost or gained over time. Here we show the May 27, June 13, June 26, and October 12, 2017 photos.