Golden Gardens Waterfall
A previous post mused as to the cause of the recent sinkhole/slide in Golden Gardens. Upon inspection, and listening to the stories from people milling about—there a constant flow of people, dogs, and bicyclists—a primary cause was more likely water flowing over the roadway. This water could have washed away enough of the downhill slope to undercut the road and cause catastrophic failure.
The failure area shows three distinct regions: a central pit, a Northern cliff, and a Southern slope failure. The central pit is strikingly vertical, and stands over a level bed of sand. This reminds me of a waterfall collection pool. The Northern edge evidences a steep, near vertical slope, presumably from water spilling off the road, though does not cut as deep as the central pit. The Southern edge, in contrast, has a much milder slope, where the soil and roadway has slumped alongside and back into the central pit. Downhill, the car is jammed into a narrow funnel, and further on debris spread out over a level area. This area has a channel gouged through it.
The car? The story in circulation: apparently, due to large amounts of water on the road, the driver stopped the car and walked back uphill for help. When the driver returned, the car had been washed away.
