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It was one of the most visited curbs in the United States: A non-slab of San Francisco Bay-area concrete that provided a chilling window into the crushing tectonic forces beneath — and the region’s inevitable destructive future.

That is, until a group of horrified geologists came upon the curb last week to find city crews tearing it apart.

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“This is just devastating news,” said Ken Hudnut, a California-based science advisor with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Apparently, it was considered a threat to public safety.”

The curb, located in a residential area outside San Francisco, is built directly on top of the Hayward Fault, the fault line most likely to cripple Northern California with a major earthquake in the near future.

And the fault is moving. Since the curb was installed sometime before 1970 it has shifted an incredible 20 centimetres.

“It was an icon,” said Andrew Alden, an Oakland-based geology writer who eulogized the curb’s recent demise. “It really brings the point home; it makes people aware of our geologic situation.”