Mission San Pedro de Galilea

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Mission San Pedro de Galilea or Galilea is the capital of Lago Grande, Alta California. It sits on the bluffs overlooking Lago Galilea at the mouth of a very windy canyon. Electrical power for the city is generated using windmills. On the low-lands are railyards that are being refurbished and enlarged, now that events have gotten quieter in the province.

To the north, on the mountain and along the bench grow massive plantations of maples, and a small settlement, Los Arces, produces a local version of maple syrup. Carefully maintained groves line the canyons, and the syrup is prized in the area, although there is not enough for export.

Aguas Calientes River

Aerial view of the 1983 landslide.

To the east, up the canyon, early settlers built an earthworks dam that was later expanded by locals to retain more water for agricultural irrigation purposes, and reinforced with structural concrete. In 1983 a massive earthflow or landslide thundered down the mountainside, just skirting the foot of the dam, and later subsiding against it, covering the bottom third of the dam.

As it caused no structural damage to the reservoir, and the spillway was more or less unobstructed, town fathers decided to leave the slide as it was, and to monitor the water released to ensure that it drained properly and didn't worsen the slide. Time has proven that this was a proper decision.