St. Francis Dam, Dam in United States of America
St. Francis Dam was a curved concrete gravity structure built in northern California near San Francisquito Canyon. The design held water for the expanding Los Angeles region and stood for only about 2 years before collapsing catastrophically.
Construction finished in 1926, but the structure failed catastrophically on March 12, 1928. The collapse happened just 2 years after completion and remains one of the deadliest civil engineering disasters in American history.
The collapse is considered one of the worst American civil engineering failures of the 20th century.
The remains sit in a remote area of San Francisquito Canyon and are reachable by hiking trails. Bring sturdy shoes and water, as the terrain is rugged and offers little shade.
When it failed, a flood wave reached roughly 125 feet (38 meters) high and swept through the valley in minutes, claiming hundreds of lives. The speed of the disaster left little time for people downstream to escape or prepare.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
