Part 2: Unearthing 130,000 Years Beneath Clear Lake

A Discovery Beneath the Mud

Fifty years ago, a team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Lake County set out into Clear Lake with a mission that turned into an unexpected discovery. USGS deployed a core drilling rig into Clear Lake and drilled out 8 different cores. Most of the cores were interrupted or unsuccessful but 2 cores, Core 4 and Core 7 were complete.They were searching for evidence of ancient earthquakes, hoping that a long sediment core might reveal signs of past seismic activity. While they did not find what they were looking for they found something far more extraordinary.