Heidi's Fascinations

There's a scar in a trench in a pit in a park in the city of Fremont, and 8,000 people have come from near and far to see it since it was first exposed to view two months ago.

The scar is a clear trace of the infamous Hayward Fault that last ruptured with deadly consequences in 1868 and is bound to do so again, unpredictably and with far greater destructive force sometime in the near future.

But the open scar is also the heart of a vivid but endangered public exhibit displaying what an actual earthquake fault looks like, what causes quakes, and how they do their damage.


The vertical white string is the Hayward fault. It continues to a depth of 8 miles.

The open-air exhibit in Fremont's Central Park must close Friday for want of funds to keep it open, and the team of scientists, educators and city officials who created it must reluctantly fill in the pit and hide the scar -- unless they can raise $46,000 to pay for such crucial needs as an upgraded fence around the pit, permanent stairs to keep access safe, salary for its staff of one, and liability insurance. That will at least keep it open until Sept. 10, the 50th anniversary of Fremont's official birth as a city.


Descend stairs to look the Hayward fault in the 'eye'.

Fremont City Councilman Robert Wieckowski is heading a drive to raise the funds and hunting for sponsors to make the exhibit permanent, but Heidi Stenner, a former seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, the one-person staff, is conducting what may be the last informative tours of the site for the public this weekend.

"Most people have never seen a seismic fault, and they think of it as just a line in the ground, but this open sight of the Hayward Fault gives them a real opportunity to learn how the Earth behaves and what earthquakes can do, and what it's like living right on top of a fault," says David Schwartz, a USGS geologist who helped start the exhibit and like many other scientists and science teachers still volunteers his time there as a docent.


David Schwartz explains the fault movement to Fremont officials.

Joyce Blueford, another former USGS geologist, heads a Fremont nonprofit education organization called Math/Science Nucleus that already runs a fossil study hall and manages a 17-acre wetlands center near the Hayward Fault exhibit. She would take the exhibit under her group's wing if it survives because, as she says, "people are just amazed when they learn they can actually walk on a fault, examine it, and understand the Earth and how it moves."

And Annabel Holland, director of Fremont's Department of Parks and Recreation, which gave the land-use permit for the exhibit for a nominal $1,000 fee, is ready to extend the permit indefinitely.

"The city certainly supports it," Holland said. "It would certainly be great to see it go forward, because it doesn't only serve Fremont, but it teaches visitors from all over the country who come to see what an earthquake fault is really like."


In addition to seeing the fault, displays give visitors an opportunity to read about a variety of earthquake topics.

The best way to find out more about the exhibit and its future is by e-mail to msn@msnucleus.org.

E-mail David Perlman at dperlman@sfchronicle.com.

# posted by Heidi @ 7:33 PM