The Mud Creek Landslide May 20 2017 Active
May 2017
January 2021
On May 20, 2017, the steep slopes at Mud Creek on California’s Big Sur coast, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, suffered a catastrophic collapse. USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center continue to monitor this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.
The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center captured an aerial photo set of the area on May 19, 2017, after a small landslide covered a portion of Highway 1. After the massive failure on May 20, the USGS collected more photographic data, and has continued to shoot additional photos from airplane and drones during the weeks and months following the catastrophic landslide. Since 2017, the USGS project scientists photograph the California coastline several times per year, and use “structure-from-motion” software to transform photos into 3D maps from which they can measure ground movement. These data sets help them track landslide activity in collaboration with scientists from the USGS Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center.
Read more about the Mud Creek landslide by selecting our news stories below.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Big Sur Landslides
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
- Overview
On May 20, 2017, the steep slopes at Mud Creek on California’s Big Sur coast, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, suffered a catastrophic collapse. USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center continue to monitor this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.
The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center captured an aerial photo set of the area on May 19, 2017, after a small landslide covered a portion of Highway 1. After the massive failure on May 20, the USGS collected more photographic data, and has continued to shoot additional photos from airplane and drones during the weeks and months following the catastrophic landslide. Since 2017, the USGS project scientists photograph the California coastline several times per year, and use “structure-from-motion” software to transform photos into 3D maps from which they can measure ground movement. These data sets help them track landslide activity in collaboration with scientists from the USGS Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center.
Read more about the Mud Creek landslide by selecting our news stories below.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsJuly 18, 2018: Time-lapse view of California Highway 1 reconstruction after 2017 landslide
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsNovember 15, 2017: LA Times story about Big Sur landslide features quotes, imagery from USGS
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsNovember 6, 2017: Video shot from drones yields details about changing landslide on California’s Big Sur coast
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsNovember 1, 2017: USGS Monitors Huge Landslides on California's Big Sur Coast, Shares Information with California Department of Transportation
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsJuly 14, 2017: USGS maps underwater part of Big Sur landslide at Mud Creek
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsJuly 11, 2017: Huge landslide on California’s Big Sur coast continues to change
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsJune 15, 2017: New Land Created by Slide on Big Sur Coast is Eroding
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsJune 1, 2017: USGS maps, measures huge landslide on California's Big Sur coast
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsMay 27, 2017: USGS helping to monitor and assess huge Big Sur landslide - Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Big Sur Landslides
On California’s Big Sur coast, the steep slopes at Mud Creek suffered a catastrophic collapse (May 20, 2017). On January 28, 2021, heavy rains from a two-day storm caused debris from fire-scarred slopes to wash out another section of road at Rat Creek. USGS scientists are monitoring this 100-mile section of the California coastline, in collaboration with the CA Department of Transportation.Remote Sensing Coastal Change
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines. - Publications
- News