The area of fault that broke is 25 miles long, parts of which are accessible only by helicopter or the determined driver of a Humvee. It's very rugged territory. The north end of the fault is located at Lavic Lake, a dry lake bed with a cracked mud surface. The middle area is composed of the Bullion Mountains, which are mostly volcanic rock. And the southern end of the fault is a system of interwoven channels that drain rain from these mountains.
Vegetation is very sparse.
But there are smoke trees, choilla cactus and creosote. And the Bullion Mountains are beautiful. They have multicolored layers of volcanic rock that slope in different directions. Some rocks are red, some green, some are brown. It caused parts of the western side of the fault to lurch up to 17 feet to the north-northwest.