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thumb “Sunken City” is the name of a beach along the San Pedro cliffs that holds the remains of a natural landslide that occurred in 1929. The development of homes and exclusive bungalows were established in the 1920’s by a man named George Peck to attract people who wanted to live with a beautiful cliffside view of the Pacific ocean (6). The land around the surrounding area called Point Fermin started to move in 1929, and continuously moved little by little until the slide that made Sunken City (6). The landslide occurred at the southern tip of San Pedro where a piece of land nearly 40,000 square feet in size started sliding apart from the cliffs and into the ocean (1). Experts investigating the landslide said that the ground was shifting at a rate of 11 inches per day (1). On January 2, 1929, a waterline broke underneath the Ocean View Inn hotel on Paseo Del Mar, and a few days later a gas line broke under the same building (6). These were the first reports of damage as the landslide began to creep up on the neighborhood of Paseo Del Mar (6). Most of the homes of the 600 block of Paseo Del Mar had time to evacuate and relocate before the collapse (1). Some of the bungalows were able to be moved completely, but two homes did not have time to relocate and were descended into the ocean during the slide (5). During the slide, part of the adjoining Point Fermin Park also fell into the ocean (3). The slide displaced 10.5 acres of land filled with homes, buildings, streets, and sidewalks (6). == Geographical Factors == On May 18, 1929 the Los Angeles Times reported the first geographical information about the occurring landslide. The news reported that a crack in the land ran from Point Fermin’s inland sea cliffs for one-half of a block to the corner of Pacific Avenue and Paseo Del Mar (6). The crack in the land had taken in five acres and caused severe breakages in gas and waterlines throughout the neighborhood (6). The undercut of waves from the cliffs caused water to seep into the bentonite layer and cause it to become so heavy that it began moving into the ocean (6). Bentonite is a form of absorbent clay formed by the breakdown of volcanic ash that can be used especially for fillers (6). On the day of the initial slide, the Los Angeles Times reported a crack that caved in in the front of a person’s house that resulted in a deep hole ten feet long and three feet across (6). In California, landslides are common due to its tectonically active environment (6). Some geologists have identified the name for landslides that push land into the ocean as a “slump.” Landslides tend to be more common in places where rocks are week and slopes are steep, which is how most of the coastal areas in Southern California are structured (6). The Paseo Del Mar neighborhood was a perfect example of this geographical issue. After the landslide disaster, geologists looked into the Fermin Point land structure and found very little previous records geotechnical inspection or investigation (6). There were also no geologic or soil reports regarding instabilities within the site, which means that no proper research was done to determine whether or not it was safe to build a community on the grounds (6). The steep cliffs and loose rocks are the reason that the Sunken City beach is fenced off from the public (6). The geographical construction of the land makes it unsafe and potentially hazardous to people’s safety, even if people are experienced in hiking or other outdoor activities (6). thumb Another aspect about the area that makes it unsafe is that the land is continuing to move, although not as drastically as the 1929 landslide (6). There have been multiple landslides around the area that have caused major cracking in highways within the past several years (6). In 2011, a roadway crumbled into pieces that fell into gaping holes near the White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, and part of it descended into the ocean (6). In Rancho Palos Verdes, an area about four miles up the coast from Sunken City beach, an estimated $500,000 is spent in landslide damage repairs per year because the land is constantly moving and slipping into the sea (6). The City of Los Angeles’s engineers and political representatives are conflicting with solution ideas to either spend public money to replace the roadway that was Sunken City, or to leave it as a memorial of the disaster (6). Although, still to this day the City of Los Angeles must spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the damage caused by ongoing landslides (6). Since the landslide in 1929, Sunken City has gone into relative obscurity and is, for the most part, abandoned as far as refurbishment. Sunken City’s street address is located at 500 W Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731 (4). The area is fenced off and is technically not open to the public today. A large “No Trespassing” sign was placed around the beach in 1987 due to a string of deaths and injuries that occurred at the location (2). There have been at least eighteen deaths in the last five years at or near the cliffs of San Pedro or Sunken City itself (7). In 2003, there were five cliffside deaths, two of which happened within a three-day span (7). In 2006, four people fell or threw themselves from the edges of the cliffs onto the rocks below and died along the cliffs of San Pedro (7). In January 2007,a man on the USC football team fell at least 100 feet over the cliffs to his death in San Pedro (7). In the same year, a nineteen-year-old girl simply lost her footing on unstable rocks and plunged at least 50 feet to her death at Sunken City (7). Three more people died in the same year from falls from the cliffs (7). Aside from deaths at Sunken City or areas near it, there have been a number of injuries that have resulted from trespassing past the gate and hiking the area as well (8). People have broken bones from falling, sprained ankles from loose footing, or suffered serious head injuries that caused them to be hospitalized (8). This is the reason Sunken City has been held back from public opening (8). Sunken City is one of the only areas along the coastline of San Pedro that still remains closed to the public (2). However, it is a hidden tourist attraction because of the abundance of graffiti it is decorated with. Sunken City has a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean and also the remains of concrete foundations, curbsides, sanitation, and piping from the neighborhood that once thrived on the San Pedro cliff (1). The beach also offers views of Catalina Island and the cranes of Los Angeles’s port (2). It has gained a sort of cult status due to its whimsical views of graffiti messages from teenagers who trespass the area (2). The beach is closed to the public due to possible safety hazards but it can be accessed through a small hole in the fence that separates the public from the hiking trail that leads to the attraction (1). It can also be accessed by climbing the fence, but it is suggested that one use extreme caution. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Sunken City」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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