Inundation/A Lament
The images included in this book were captured along California's Humboldt County coast. This is not only one of the most active earthquake locations on Earth with colliding tectonic plates right off shore, but also where land and sea are often at the same level. Local tectonic movements cause the onshore land here to sink making it even more susceptible to the inevitable - climate change caused rising sea. Already tsunami warning signs are omnipresent as you drive north from farm land south of Eureka to Orick and beyond.
The Arcata water storage tanks will have to be moved inland. The waste water ponds created to filter used water before it flows out to sea will be inundated. The already soggy grazing pastures will be overwhelmed with sea water. The fishing and logging industries which have long supported Humboldt County will be devastated. The Orick pasture in front of the old school house favored by herds of elk will be under water as will the extraordinarily beautiful Trinidad and Moonstone beaches.
The Yurok tribe recently reclaimed land at the Patrick Point State Park. This long awaited victory to regain what was rightfully theirs shouldn't be impacted by the countywide devastation, thankfully, as it's at a higher elevation.
More often than not, I'm drawn to places that have an ecological story to tell - places where there's a sense of urgency to not only address climate change, but for me, as a photographer, to capture the idiosyncratic character of the land before what once was is gone or horribly transformed. That is the case here.
This series of images is my lament, my love song to this incredibly beautiful stretch of the Northern California coast.
