Story highlights Access closed as landslide along highway extends more than a quarter mile

Area has been hit by several landslides since January

(CNN) A monster of a landslide has buried a quarter-mile section of the scenic coastal highway in California's Big Sur region, piling fresh misery on a remote area that hasn't seen the road fully passable for months.

More than 1 million tons of rock and dirt fell Saturday onto the Pacific Coast Highway, considered by some to be one of the most scenic drives in the United States. The section is 1 mile southeast of the small community of Gorda, about 60 miles south of Monterey.

The landslide covered the road, also known as State Route 1, in a 35-40 feet deep layer of dirt for about 1,500 feet. The highway is the main artery running through Big Sur, a picturesque stretch that is a major tourist attraction.

The highway already was closed at that spot -- almost continuously since January -- and at a few other points along the dozens of miles of Big Sur coast because of landslides caused by unusually heavy winter and spring rains.

But Saturday's slide at Mud Creek was the largest by far, and authorities said they don't know when it can be cleared.

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