Well, yesterday was the start of a sequence of earthquakes offshore of San Clemente Island, about 100 km west of San Diego, California. The primary tectonic player in southern CA is the Pacific – North America plate boundary fault, the San Andreas (SAF).
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Here are the earthquakes in this sequence:
- 2019.06.05 10:47:18 (UTC)M 4.3
- 2019.06.05 14:32:09 (UTC)M 4.3
- 2019.06.05 14:37:35 (UTC)M 4.3
- 2019.06.05 16:13:43 (UTC)M 4.3
- 2019.06.05 22:33:25 (UTC)M 3.3
- 2019.06.06 01:44:33 (UTC)M 2.4
- 2019.06.06 02:21:17 (UTC)M 2.3
- 2019.06.06 11:18:09 (UTC)M 2.8
- 2019.06.06 11:25:36 (UTC)M 3.5
- 2019.06.06 17:19:10 (UTC)M 1.6
The region offshore where this ongoing sequence is called the California Continental Borderlands (CCB). There exists an excellent record of how the North America – Pacific plate margin boundary has evolved through time (remember, prior to about 29 million years ago, this plate boundary in southern CA was a subduction zone).
There was an earthquake offshore of Los Angeles last year. Check out my earthquake report and report update.
In places the SAF is a single thoroughgoing fault (e.g. in the southern San Joaquin Valley), in others it splays into multiple strands (in Orange County between the Santa Ana Mtns and Lake Elsinore), and in other places it bends to create regions of uplift (like in Ventura or the Santa Monica Mtns). The active faulting in the CCB is basically a series of right-lateral faults that step and bend to form uplifted islands and terraces, along with pull-apart sedimentary basins.
San Clemente Island is a region of uplifted non-marine Tertiary volcanic rocks (andesite and dacite) with ages ranging from 14.8 – 16.5 million years ago (Yeats, 1968; Merifield et al., 1971; Ward and Valenise, 1996). These rocks are overlain by Tertiary (Miocene) sediments (limestone, siltstone, shale, and diatomite; correlates to the Monterey Formation) and Plio-Pleistocene sediments (sandstones and conglomerates; correlates to the Fernando Formation found onshore; Stadum & Susuki, 1976; Ward and Valenise, 1996).
The bedrock is folded into a northwest trending anticline (rocks are folded upwards with the crest in the center of the island, forming a convex upward fold). Moore (1969) use regional compilations of seismic reflection data to show that this type of tectonic folding is ubiquitous throughout the CCB.
Ward and Velensise (1996) suggest that the San Clemente island formed via uplift during progressive slip on two, southeast striking, southwest dipping, blind thrust faults. These faults initiated movement between 3 and 5 Ma. There are a suite of Pleistocene marine terraces (2.56 Ma and younger) that provide evidence that uplift is continuing. Using fossil age determinations and correlation of marine terrace elevations with global eustatic sea level curves, the island is currently uplifting at rates between 0.2 and .5 mm/year. So, the underlying thrust faults are slipping at about 0.6-1.5 mm/yr (Ward and Velensise, 1996).
Muhs et al. (2014) used numerical ages (uranium-series analysis of corrals and amino acid geochronology of mollusks) to calculate marine terrace uplift rates in the CCB. When compared to uplift rates from different tectonic regimes, the terrace uplift rates in CCB is comparable to regions where strike-slip tectonics are dominant. These authors suggest that uplift like that found at the Big Bend (e.g. Ventura and Santa Monica Mtns) is not influencing terrace uplift rates in the CCB.
Along with this compression, there is a right-lateral (dextral) strike-slip fault on the east side of the island, the San Clemente fault, which has a slip rate of about 1 – 4 mm.yr (Ward and Valensise, 1996). The Southern California Earthquake Center suggests the slip rate is about 1.5 mm/yr for the SCF.
The ongoing sequence of earthquakes near the San Clemente Island are small in magnitude. If these were foreshocks to a larger earthquake, this would be felt across the southland, possibly cause damage on the island (where there is a U.S. Naval base), could possibly trigger submarine landslides or a small tsunami. Strike-slip earthquakes are not always considered a significant source for large tsunami, but there is abundant evidence that they do, though often much smaller than tsunami generated from thrust or subduction zone earthquakes. It is possible, if not probable, that this sequence will fizzle out.
Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake
I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1918-2018 with magnitudes M ≥ 3.0 in one version.
I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue and focal mechanisms in orange), possibly in addition to some relevant historic earthquakes.
- I placed a moment tensor / focal mechanism legend on the poster. There is more material from the USGS web sites about moment tensors and focal mechanisms (the beach ball symbols). Both moment tensors and focal mechanisms are solutions to seismologic data that reveal two possible interpretations for fault orientation and sense of motion. One must use other information, like the regional tectonics, to interpret which of the two possibilities is more likely.
- I also include the shaking intensity contours on the map. These use the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI; see the legend on the map). This is based upon a computer model estimate of ground motions, different from the “Did You Feel It?” estimate of ground motions that is actually based on real observations. The MMI is a qualitative measure of shaking intensity. More on the MMI scale can be found here and here. This is based upon a computer model estimate of ground motions, different from the “Did You Feel It?” estimate of ground motions that is actually based on real observations.
- In the lower right corner is a map from Wallace (1990) that shows the plate boundary and major faults overlain upon a topographic/bathymetric map. Check out the patterns made by the uplifted regions and the faulting (e.g. pull-apart basins). I placed a blue star in the general location of this ongoing sequence.
- In the upper right corner there is a map that shows more detailed fault mapping and bathymetric contours (Chaytor et al., 2008).
- In the upper left corner, there is a map from Legg et al. (2015) that shows how the strike-slip faults transect the CCB. Select earthquake mechanisms are shown (use legend at the top of the poster to help interpret these symbols) for some historic earthquakes. These authors collected and interpreted a number of seismic reflection profiles, including C-C.’
- Below the Chaytor et al. (2008) map is seismic reflection profile C-C’ which shows how the basins are filled with sediment, the islands and terraces are also constructed of sedimentary rocks, and there are some steeply dipping faults. This profile is not travel time corrected, so depth is in two-way-travel-time (in seconds), not in depth. The faults probably dip more shallowly than is shown on the figure. The faults in this figure are aligned with the San Clemente fault system labeled on the map. Note that there are some faults that bound the Santa Nicolas Basin.
- In the lower left corner is a figure that shows how a right-lateral strike-slip fault can create a geometry (e.g. in a step over) where there is extension that forms a pull-apart basin. This is one way to explain the formation of the Santa Cruz, Santa Nicolas, and Catalina basins shown on the maps.
I include some inset figures. Some of the same figures are located in different places on the larger scale map below.
- Here is the map with a month’s seismicity plotted.
- Here is the map with a century’s seismicity plotted.
- Here is a map that shows detailed bathymetry data for the region (Dartnell et al., 2016, 2017) overlain on GEBCO coarser bathymetry data downloaded from GMRT. The land data are at 10 m resolution from The National Map (NED).
- I plot USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database faults as faint white lines. Earthquakes include the past month for magnitudes M ≥ 0.5 and events since 1919 for M ≥ 4.0.
- Look at the bathymetry surrounding the island. We can clearly see the SCF to the east of the island. There is evidence for a north-south striking fault to the west of the island. In the area just southeast of the earthquakes, there appears bedrock sticking up out of the continental shelf. This bedrock aligns with a ridge in the slop to the south of the island. This ridge may just be sediment, but it may also be tectonic in origin.
- This map has the USGS MMI contours. The two M 4.3 temblors were felt across the southland.
- Here is a larger scale map so that we can look at the bathymetry surrounding San Clemente Island in greater detail. I updated the USGS seismicity for 2019.06.06 at 20:00 Pacific time.
Other Report Pages
Some Relevant Discussion and Figures
- Here is the figure showing the evolution of the SAF since its inception about 29 Ma. I include the USGS figure caption below as a blockquote.
EVOLUTION OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
This series of block diagrams shows how the subduction zone along the west coast of North America transformed into the San Andreas Fault from 30 million years ago to the present. Starting at 30 million years ago, the westward- moving North American Plate began to override the spreading ridge between the Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate. This action divided the Farallon Plate into two smaller plates, the northern Juan de Fuca Plate (JdFP) and the southern Cocos Plate (CP). By 20 million years ago, two triple junctions began to migrate north and south along the western margin of the West Coast. (Triple junctions are intersections between three tectonic plates; shown as red triangles in the diagrams.) The change in plate configuration as the North American Plate began to encounter the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the San Andreas Fault. The northern Mendicino Triple Junction (M) migrated through the San Francisco Bay region roughly 12 to 5 million years ago and is presently located off the coast of northern California, roughly midway between San Francisco (SF) and Seattle (S). The Mendicino Triple Junction represents the intersection of the North American, Pacific, and Juan de Fuca Plates. The southern Rivera Triple Junction (R) is presently located in the Pacific Ocean between Baja California (BC) and Manzanillo, Mexico (MZ). Evidence of the migration of the Mendicino Triple Junction northward through the San Francisco Bay region is preserved as a series of volcanic centers that grow progressively younger toward the north. Volcanic rocks in the Hollister region are roughly 12 million years old whereas the volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Clear Lake region north of San Francisco Bay range from only few million to as little as 10,000 years old. Both of these volcanic areas and older volcanic rocks in the region are offset by the modern regional fault system. (Image modified after original illustration by Irwin, 1990 and Stoffer, 2006.)
- Here is a map that shows the tectonic provides in this region (Legg et al. (2015). While the region inherits topography and geologic structures from past tectonic regimes, the dominant tectonic control here is currently the North America – Pacific plate boundary.
Map of the California Continental Borderland showing major tectonic features and moderate earthquake locations (M >5.5). The dashed box shows area of this study. The large arrows show relative plate motions for the Pacific-North America transform fault boundary (~N40° ± 2°W; RM2 and PA-1 [Plattner et al., 2007]). BP = Banning Pass, CH = Chino Hills, CP = Cajon Pass, LA = Los Angeles, PS = Palm Springs, V = Ventura, ESC = Santa Cruz Basin, ESCBZ = East Santa Cruz Basin fault zone, SCI = Santa Catalina Island, SCL = San Clemente Island, SMB = Santa Monica Basin, and SNI = San Nicolas Island. Base map from GeoMapApp/Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) [Ryan et al., 2009].
- This map (Legg et al., 2007) shows an interpretation of the tectonics in this area. Note the location of the seismic reflection profile 116. San Clemente Island is on the southern edge of this map.
- Here is the USGS seismic reflection profile 116 (Legg et al., 2007). The San Clemente fault zone and the Catalina fault are shown. Check out the pull-apart basin.
Shaded relief map of Santa Catalina Island and vicinity, where several restraining-bend pop-ups and releasing-bend basins exist along major fault zones. Epicentres for two moderate earthquakes (1981 Santa Barbara Island, M 6.0; 1986 Oceanside, M 5.8) and aftershocks bound the Santa Catalina Island restraining bend (locations by Astiz & Shearer 2000; focal mechanism from Corbett 1984). Other restraining-bend pop-ups include the Palos Verdes Hills (PVH) and Lasuen knoll along the Palos Verdes fault zone, and Signal Hill (SH) and possibly the San Joaquin Hills (SJH) along the Newport–Inglewood fault zone. Small pop-ups and pull-apart basins in the vicinity of Crespi knoll are shown in Figure 14. Total relief across the Catalina Fault is almost 2000 m, from Catalina Basin to Mt Orizaba. From 60 to 72 km of right-slip on San Clemente Fault is inferred from offset of Emery Knoll crater rim (Legg et al. 2004b).
Seismic-reflection profile USGS-116 across the Catalina basin (see Fig. 12 for profile location). Note the thin sediment cover over an irregular basement surface. A pull-apart basin exists where the San Clemente Fault steps to the NE to eventually merge with the Catalina Fault. The major faults have subvertical dips, typical of strike-slip faults. Convergence across the Catalina Fault has elevated Santa Catalina Island, and uplift occurs on both sides of the PDZ. Seismic data from USGS (J. Childs 2005, pers. comm.) FK migration at 4800 fps velocity was applied to 22-fold USGS stacked data.
- Here is the figure with more details about the tectonic interpretation of the area (Legg et al., 2015)
Map showing bathymetry, Quaternary faults, and recent seismicity in the Outer Borderland. Fault locations are based on the high-resolution bathymetry, available high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, and published fault maps [cf. California Geological Survey (CGS), 2010]. The red symbols show magnitude-scaled (M>4) epicenters for seismicity recorded for the period of 1932 to 2013. Seismicity data and focal mechanisms are derived from the Southern California Seismograph Network catalogs, National Earthquake Information Center [2012–2013], and Legg [1980]. Focal mechanism event numbers correspond to Table S2 in the supporting information. The black rectangle shows location of Figure 10. The light blue lines show tracklines of multichannel seismic profiles—the labeled white profiles are shown in Figures 12 (124) and 13 (108 and 126).
- Here is the summary figure from Legg et al. (2015). This helps us put these faults systems into context. Seismic reflection profiles from their publication are shown here (profile C-C’ is located in the rectangle labeled Fig 6 and plotted below).
- Here is the seismic reflection profile C-C’ shown on the poster (Legg et al., 2015).
Map showing major active tectonic elements of the northern part of the California Continental Borderland. Major active (Quaternary) faults are shown in red (SAF = San Andreas fault, ABF = Agua Blanca fault, SCF = San Clemente fault, and SCCR = Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge, Ferrelo). Major strike-slip offsets are shown by shaded areas with estimated displacement (EK = Emery Knoll crater; Tanner Basin near DB = Dall Bank; and SDT = San Diego Trough, small pull-apart near Catalina). Other symbols show oblique fault character including transpressional restraining bends (CAT = Santa Catalina Island, CB = Cortes Bank, and TB = Tanner Bank), uplifts (SRI = Santa Rosa Island, SCz = Santa Cruz Island, SNI = San Nicolas Island, CB = Cortes Bank, TB = Tanner Bank, and SBM = San Bernardino Mountains), and transtensional pull-apart basins (SD = San Diego, ENS = Ensenada, SCB = San Clemente Basin, and SIB = San Isidro Basin). The large arrows show Pacific-North America relative plate motions with the blue dashed line (PAC-NAM) along a small circle for the RM2 [Minster and Jordan, 1978] plate motions model through San Clemente Island (SCL). Boundary between the Inner and Outer Borderland follows the East Santa Cruz Basin fault zone (dotted line; modified from Schindler [2010] and De Hoogh [2012]). Holocene volcanoes exist along the coast (SQ= San Quintín) and within the Gulf of California Rift (CP = Cerro Prieto and Obsidian Buttes, Salton Trough). Dates show year of earthquakes with mapped focal mechanisms (see Table S2 in the supporting information). SB = Santa Barbara, LA = Los Angeles, and PS = Palm Springs.
High-resolution 24-channel 4 kJ sparker seismic profiles along the Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge (C. Goldfinger, personal communications, 2001). The profiles are arranged from north to south along the southern part of the ridge (see Figure 6a for profile locations). Profile OSU-128 located near the bifurcation of the Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge east of Santa Barbara Island. The colored horizons are correlated to stratigraphy mapped by Sorlien et al. [2013] (see Figure 6 for profile location). The East San Clemente fault zone merges with the Catalina Ridge fault zone within the eastern valley (Figure 5a). Reverse slip is evident on several steep faults that bound blocks of sedimentary rocks that were squeezed up in this transpressional fault system.
- Here is a map from Maier et al. (2018) that shows how the faults are configured, as well as the sedimentary distribution systems (the focus of their paper). I grew up on the [concrete] banks of the San Gabriel River and this is where the submarine canyon and channels send their sediment loads.
- Below are seismic reflection profiles plotted on the above map (Maier et al., 2018)
Color-contoured slope-shaded multibeam bathymetry gridded at 10 meters. A) The Catalina Basin and the San Gabriel Canyon–Channel depositional system. Dashed line in the Catalina Basin indicates approximate extent of channels resolved on the seafloor.
Northwest channels and lobes. See Figure 1A for profile locations. Gray lines represent profile intersections. A) Chirp profile across the northwestern Catalina Basin shows the stacking of lobes that do not reach the Kimki Fault (KF). B) An obliquely oriented chirp profile shows that the lobe deposits originate from the northwest channels, end before reaching the San Clemente Fault (SCF), and do not overlap in extent with lobe b.
- This shows the timeline of what has controlled the tectonics in this region (Legg et al., 2015).
Chronology of major Cenozoic events in the Southern California region (after Wright [1991] and Legg and Kamerling [2012]). Intensity of tectonic deformation is represented by the curve. Local (Los Angeles Basin) biostratigraphic zonation is shown. The slanted labels for Neogene stages represent the time-transgressive nature of these boundaries.
Pleistocene Marine Terraces
- Schematic cartoon illustrating the cutting and abandonment of marine terraces in an actively uplifting landscape in relation to sea level fluctuation. (a) Marine terrace cut during a relative sea level high stand. (b) Sea level drops and the marine terrace is uplifted. (c) During the next relative sea level high stand a new marine terrace is cut into the landscape below the older terrace. Modified after Nalin et al., (2007).
- Here is a figure that shows the geomorphic features of a marine terrace (Wikipedia).
- Here is a beautiful low angle oblique photo of the marine terraces on San Clemente Island (Yatsko, 2000). These authors studied the archaeological deposits on this island.
- Here are some views of the terraces on San Clemente Island as photographed by Daniel Muhs (USGS).
- Here is a map I prepared using the 2016 USGS Topobathy data (LiDAR and historic bathymetry mosaic).
- I present these data as a shaded relief (hillshade) beneath an elevation raster with color representing height or depth. I also use a slopeshade raster to help highlight the changes in slope.
- The 100 meter topographic contours are labeled. The inset shows the location of the main map in relation to the CCB with a pink polygon.
- UPDATE: 2019.06.07
- I prepared a couple maps that show the entire island. These are below, with 2 different color ramps.
- Below is a fantastic summary showing the uplift rates for Pleistocene marine terraces along the North America – Pacific plate boundary system(Legg et al., 2015). Note the high uplift rates at the Big Bend and the Mendocino triple junction (another plate where there is a major change in SAF tectonics).
Emergent Pleistocene marine terraces on the west side of the island between Norton and Box canyons.
Map showing the plate tectonic setting of western North America (simplified from Drummond (1981) and Simkin et al. (2006)). SAF, San Andreas Fault; MTJ, Mendocino Triple Junction; CSZ, Cascadia subduction zone. Also shown are marine terrace localities with reliably dated ~120 ka, ~80 ka, or ~49 ka corals, or amino acid ratios in mollusks that permit correlation to ~120 ka, ~80 ka, or ~49 ka terrace localities, and elevation data that allow calculations of late Quaternary uplift rates. Paleo-sea levels, relative to present, used for uplift rate calculations are þ6 m (~120 ka), 11 m (~80 ka), and 62 m (~49 ka), derived from data in Muhs et al. (2012). Abbreviations and sources of data, south to north: CP, Cabo Pulmo (Muhs et al., 2002a); LP, La Paz (Sirkin et al., 1990); BH, Bahía Magdalena (Omura et al., 1979); IC, Isla Coronados and PC, Punta Chivato (Johnson et al., 2007; see also Table 2); MU, Mulege (Ashby et al., 1987); BT, Bahía de Tortugas (Emerson et al., 1981); PB, Punta Banda (Rockwell et al., 1989; Muhs et al., 2002a); PL, Point Loma (Kern, 1977; Muhs et al., 2002a); SCI, San Clemente Island (Muhs et al., 2002a, 2014); NB, Newport Bay (Grant et al., 1999); SNI, San Nicolas Island (Muhs et al., 2012); PV, Palos Verdes Hills (Muhs et al., 2006); NCI, Northern Channel Islands (this study); V, Ventura (Lajoie et al., 1979; Kennedy et al., 1982;Wehmiller, 1982); IV, Isla Vista (Gurrola et al., 2014; see also Table 2); SB, Shell Beach (Stein et al., 1991; Hanson et al., 1994); PSL, Point San Luis (Hanson et al., 1994; Muhs et al., 1994); C, Cayucos (Stein et al., 1991; Muhs et al., 2002a); AN, A~no Nuevo (Muhs et al., 2006); PA, Point Arena (Muhs et al., 2006); PD, Point Delgada (McLaughlin et al., 1983a, 1983b; Merritts and Bull, 1989); CC, Crescent City (Kennedy et al., 1982; Polenz and Kelsey, 1999); CB, Cape Blanco (Kelsey, 1990; Muhs et al., 1990); B, Bandon (McInelly and Kelsey, 1990; Muhs et al., 1990, 2006); YB, Yaquina Bay (Kennedy et al., 1982; Kelsey et al., 1996).
Geologic Fundamentals
- For more on the graphical representation of moment tensors and focal mechanisms, check this IRIS video out:
- Here is a fantastic infographic from Frisch et al. (2011). This figure shows some examples of earthquakes in different plate tectonic settings, and what their fault plane solutions are. There is a cross section showing these focal mechanisms for a thrust or reverse earthquake. The upper right corner includes my favorite figure of all time. This shows the first motion (up or down) for each of the four quadrants. This figure also shows how the amplitude of the seismic waves are greatest (generally) in the middle of the quadrant and decrease to zero at the nodal planes (the boundary of each quadrant).
- Here is another way to look at these beach balls.
The two beach balls show the stike-slip fault motions for the M6.4 (left) and M6.0 (right) earthquakes. Helena Buurman's primer on reading those symbols is here. pic.twitter.com/aWrrb8I9tj
— AK Earthquake Center (@AKearthquake) August 15, 2018
- There are three types of earthquakes, strike-slip, compressional (reverse or thrust, depending upon the dip of the fault), and extensional (normal). Here is are some animations of these three types of earthquake faults. The following three animations are from IRIS.
Strike Slip:
Compressional:
Extensional:
- This is an image from the USGS that shows how, when an oceanic plate moves over a hotspot, the volcanoes formed over the hotspot form a series of volcanoes that increase in age in the direction of plate motion. The presumption is that the hotspot is stable and stays in one location. Torsvik et al. (2017) use various methods to evaluate why this is a false presumption for the Hawaii Hotspot.
- Here is a map from Torsvik et al. (2017) that shows the age of volcanic rocks at different locations along the Hawaii-Emperor Seamount Chain.
- Here is a great tweet that discusses the different parts of a seismogram and how the internal structures of the Earth help control seismic waves as they propagate in the Earth.
A cutaway view along the Hawaiian island chain showing the inferred mantle plume that has fed the Hawaiian hot spot on the overriding Pacific Plate. The geologic ages of the oldest volcano on each island (Ma = millions of years ago) are progressively older to the northwest, consistent with the hot spot model for the origin of the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamount Chain. (Modified from image of Joel E. Robinson, USGS, in “This Dynamic Planet” map of Simkin and others, 2006.)
Hawaiian-Emperor Chain. White dots are the locations of radiometrically dated seamounts, atolls and islands, based on compilations of Doubrovine et al. and O’Connor et al. Features encircled with larger white circles are discussed in the text and Fig. 2. Marine gravity anomaly map is from Sandwell and Smith.
Today, on #SeismogramSaturday: what are all those strangely-named seismic phases described in seismograms from distant earthquakes? And what do they tell us about Earth’s interior? pic.twitter.com/VJ9pXJFdCy
— Jackie Caplan-Auerbach (@geophysichick) February 23, 2019
- 1906.04.18 M 7.9 San Francisco
- 2017.12.14 M 4.3 Laytonville
- 2016.11.06 M 4.1 Laytonville, CA
- 2016.11.03 M 3.8 Laytonville, CA
- 2016.08.10 M 5.1 Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2015.08.30 M 3.6 Mendocino County, CA
- 2015.07.27 M 3.5 Point Arena, CA
- 2018.07.30 M 3.7 San Pablo Bay
- 2018.01.04 M 4.4 Berkeley
- 2016.02.23 M 4.9 Bakersfield
- 2015.12.30 M 4.4 San Bernardino, CA
- 2015.05.03 M 3.8 Los Angeles, CA
- 2015.04.13 M 3.3 Los Angeles, CA
- 2014.04.01 M 5.1 La Habra p-3
- 2014.03.29 M 5.1 La Habra p-2
- 2014.03.28 M 5.1 La Habra p-1
- 2016.08.04 M 4.5 Honey Lake, CA
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
- 2019.06.05 M 4.3 San Clemente Island
- 2018.04.05 M 5.3 Channel Islands
- 2018.04.05 M 5.3 Channel Islands Update #1
- 1994.11.17 M 6.7 Northridge, CA
- 1971.02.09 M 6.7 Sylmar, CA
Southern CA
Earthquake Reports
Social Media
- Chaytor, J.D., Goldfinger, C., Meiner, M.A., Huftile, G.J., Romsost, C.G., Legg, M.R., 2008. Measuring vertical tectonic motion at the intersection of the Santa Cruz–Catalina Ridge and Northern Channel Islands platform, California Continental Borderland, using submerged paleoshorelines in GSA Bulletin, v. 120, no. 7/8, p. 1053-1071, https://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B26316.1
- Dartnell, P., Driscoll, N.W., Brothers, D., Conrad, J.E., Kluesner, J., Kent, G., and Andrews, B., 2015, Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the inner continental borderland, Southern California, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3324, 3 sheets, https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3324.
- Dartnell, P., Roland, E.C., Raineault, N.A., Castillo, C.M., Conrad, J.E., Kane, R.R., Brothers, D.S., Kluesner, J.W., Walton, M.A.L., 2017, Multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 in Catalina Basin, southern California and merged multibeam bathymetry datasets of the northern portion of the Southern California Continental Borderland: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DV1H3W.
- Du, X., Hendy, I., Schimmelmann, 2018. A 9000-year flood history for Southern California: A revised stratigraphy of varved sediments in Santa Barbara Basin in Marine Geology, v. 397, p. 29-42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2017.11.014
- Frisch, W., Meschede, M., Blakey, R., 2011. Plate Tectonics, Springer-Verlag, London, 213 pp.
- Fuis, G.S., Ryberg, T., Godfrey, N.J., Okaya, D.A., Murphy, J.M., 2001. Crustal structure and tectonics from the Los Angeles basin to the Mojave Desert, southern California in Geology, v. 29, no. 1, p. 15-18
- Hayes, G., 2018, Slab2 – A Comprehensive Subduction Zone Geometry Model: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PV6JNV.
- Kreemer, C., G. Blewitt, E.C. Klein, 2014. A geodetic plate motion and Global Strain Rate Model in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 15, p. 3849-3889, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GC005407.
- Legg., <.R., Goldfinger, C., Kamerling, M.J., Chaytor, J.D., and Einstein, D.E., 2007. Morphology, structure and evolution of California Continental Borderland restraining bends in W. D. & Mann, P. (Eds) Tectonics of Strike-Slip Restraining And Releasing Bends. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 290, p. 143–168
- Legg, M. R., M. D. Kohler, N. Shintaku, and D. S. Weeraratne, 2015. Highresolution mapping of two large-scale transpressional fault zones in the California Continental Borderland: Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge and Ferrelo faults, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf., 120, 915–942, doi:10.1002/2014JF003322.
- Merifield, P.M., Lamar, D.L., and Stout, M.L., 1971. Geology of Central San Clemente Island, California in GSA Bulletin, v. 82, p. 1989-1994
- Maier, K.L., Roland, E.C., Walton., A.L., Conrad,m J.E., Brothers, D.S., Bartnell, P., and Kleusner, J.W., 2018. The Tectonically Controlled San Gabriel Channel–Lobe Transition Zone, Catalina Basin, Southern California Borderland in Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 88, p. 942-959, http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2018.50
- Meyer, B., Saltus, R., Chulliat, a., 2017. EMAG2: Earth Magnetic Anomaly Grid (2-arc-minute resolution) Version 3. National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Model. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5H70CVX
- Muhs, Daniel R.; Simmons, Kathleen R.; Schumann, R. Randall; Groves, Lindsey T.; DeVogel, Stephen B.; Minor, Scott A.; and Laurel, DeAnna, “Coastal tectonics on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim: late Quaternary sea-level history and uplift rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA” (2014). USGS Staff — Published Research. 932.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/932 - Müller, R.D., Sdrolias, M., Gaina, C. and Roest, W.R., 2008, Age spreading rates and spreading asymmetry of the world’s ocean crust in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9, Q04006, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001743
- Nalin, R., Massari, F., and Zecchin, M., 2007, Superimposed Cycles of Composite Marine Terraces: The Example of Cutro Terrace (Calabria, Southern Italy): Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 77, no. 4, p. 340-354.
- Pinter, N., Lueddecke, S.B., Keller, E.A., Simmons, K.R., 1998. Late Quaternary slip on the Santa Cruz Island fault, California in GSA Bulletin, v. 110, no. 6, p. 711-722
- Pinter, N., Johns, B., Little, B., Vestal, W.D., 2001. Fault-Related Folding in California’s Northern Channel Islands Documented by Rapid-Static GPS Positioning in GSA Today, May, 2001
- Schindler, C.S., 2010. 3D Fault Geometry and Basin Evolution in the Northern Continental Borderland Offshore Southern California Catherine Sarah Schindler, B.S. A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Physics and Geology California State University Bakersfield In Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Science in Geology
- Shaw, J.H., Suppe, J., 1994. Active faulting and growth folding in the eastern Santa Barbara Channel, California in GSA Bulletin, v. 106, p. 607-626
- Wallace, Robert E., ed., 1990, The San Andreas fault system, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1515, 283 p. [https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1515].
- Yeats, R. S., 1968. Southern California structure, sea-floor spreading, and history of the Pacific Basin in Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 79, p. 1693-1702
References:
Return to the Earthquake Reports page.
Today is the anniversary of the 18 April 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. There are few direct observations (e.g. from seismometers or other instruments) from this earthquake, so our knowledge of how strong the ground shook during the earthquake are limited to indirect measurements. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1900-2018 with magnitudes M ≥ 5.5.
Fence half a mile northwest of Woodville (east of Point Reyes), offset by approximately 2.6 m of right-lateral strike-slip motion on the San Andreas fault in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library, Gilbert, G. K. 2845).
ShakeMap for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake based on the Boatwright and Bundock (2005) intensities (processed 18 October 2005). Open circles identify the intensity sites used to construct the ShakeMap.
Spread failures on the banks of the Eel River near Port Kenyon in 1906. Photo E. Garrett, courtesy of Peter Palmquist.
Geologic sketch map of the northern Coast Ranges, central California, showing faults with Quaternary activity and basin deposits in northern section of the San Andreas fault system. Fault patterns are generalized, and only major faults are shown. Several Quaternary basins are fault bounded and aligned parallel to strike-slip faults, a relation most apparent along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek-Maacama fault trend.
EVOLUTION OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
The two beach balls show the stike-slip fault motions for the M6.4 (left) and M6.0 (right) earthquakes. Helena Buurman's primer on reading those symbols is here. pic.twitter.com/aWrrb8I9tj — AK Earthquake Center (@AKearthquake) August 15, 2018
Strike Slip: A cutaway view along the Hawaiian island chain showing the inferred mantle plume that has fed the Hawaiian hot spot on the overriding Pacific Plate. The geologic ages of the oldest volcano on each island (Ma = millions of years ago) are progressively older to the northwest, consistent with the hot spot model for the origin of the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamount Chain. (Modified from image of Joel E. Robinson, USGS, in “This Dynamic Planet” map of Simkin and others, 2006.)
Hawaiian-Emperor Chain. White dots are the locations of radiometrically dated seamounts, atolls and islands, based on compilations of Doubrovine et al. and O’Connor et al. Features encircled with larger white circles are discussed in the text and Fig. 2. Marine gravity anomaly map is from Sandwell and Smith.
Today, on #SeismogramSaturday: what are all those strangely-named seismic phases described in seismograms from distant earthquakes? And what do they tell us about Earth’s interior? pic.twitter.com/VJ9pXJFdCy — Jackie Caplan-Auerbach (@geophysichick) February 23, 2019
Well well. Here is an update. There was lots of information that I was trying to incorporate and I needed an additional report to cover some of this material. That being said, there is still some mystery about this earthquake. My favored interpretation is that this EQ was a left-lateral strike-slip earthquake. There is still room to interpret this as a right-lateral strike-slip (llss) earthquake however. Below I have prepared some figures that provide additional information that helps us learn about the faulting and basin development in the CA Borderlands here. There is lots of work that has been done here and this is far from a comprehensive analysis. As I mentioned before (here is my initial Earthquake Report for this EQ), due to the big bend in the San Andreas fault (SAF) in southern CA, there is evidence for compression in the form of thrust faults and uplifted mountains (e.g. Sierra Madre fault and the San Gabriel Mtns). One of these thrust faults (which may also have some strike-slip motion) is the Hollywood fault (recently highlighted by the recent work by the CA Geological Survey). Also part of the development of the SAF involved the clockwise rotation of a crustal block where the Transverse Ranges are (the mtns to the north of Ventura/Santa Barbara). Along the southern boundary of the Transverse Ranges formed left-lateral strike slip faults. The Santa Cruz Island fault just happens to be a left-lateral strike-slip fault. The CA Borderlands is a complex region of faulting, inheriting structures from the Tertiary, overprinted by modern tectonics and everything in between. The Hollywood fault trends towards (and turns into?) the Malibu Coast fault, which may turn into the Santa Cruz Island fault (SCIF), a vertical left-lateral strike-slip fault (but may have some vertical motion on it, based upon offsets in vertical uplift rates from marine terrace profiles). Schindler used seismic reflection profiles in the Santa Cruz Basin area to interpret the tectonic history here. I placed the faults interpreted by them as orange lines in the interpretive poster (labeled as the Ferrelo fault and the East Santa Cruz (ECS) Basin fault system). The ESCBFS is a thrust fault system, with possible oblique motion (strike-slip). My initial interpretation was that this M 5.3 was a llss earthquake associated with this fault. There are some interesting problems that arise considering this fault. To the south, the fault is oriented similar to the San Clemente fault (which may have had a M 5.5 right-lateral strike-slip (rlss) earthquake on 1981.09.04). Due to this, the simple interpretation is that the ESCBFS is right lateral oblique at the southern part of the Santa Cruz Basin. However, along the northern boundary of this basin, the ESCBFS rotates to an east-west strike (orientation). The simple interpretation would be that this part of the fault system would be llss, similar to the SCIF. So, clearly, things are not so simple here. See the Chaytor et al. (2008) figure below. That being said, if this M 5.3 earthquake was on an east-west fault, it would be llss. There is no evidence for a north-south oriented fault on the western boundary of the Santa Cruz Basin (see Schindler (2007) seismic profile below), supporting the left-lateral interpretation. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1918-2018 with magnitudes M ≥ 4.5. I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue and focal mechanisms in orange) for the M 5.3 earthquake, in addition to some relevant historic earthquakes (including the 1971 Sylmar and 1994 Northridge earthquakes, as evidence for the compression in the region).
Epicenters from an earthquake swarm in 1984 (Henyey and Teng, 1985) define the active axial surface (A) of the Offshore Oak Ridge trend. Single-event (C and D) and composite (E and F) focal mechanism solutions from the 1984 seismicity have gentle north dipping (C, D, and E) and horizontal (F) nodal planes (Henyey and Teng, 1985) consistent with folding through the active axial surfaces by bedding parallel slip (see Figure 10B). Cross section traces: X-X’ (Fig. 7); X-Y (Fig. 11). SCIF = Santa Cruz Island fault.
A balanced geologic cross section across the eastern Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Cruz Island combines subsurface seismic reflection and well-log data (the section trace is in Figs. 1 and 10A). The Channel Islands thrust ramps beneath the Offshore Oak Ridge trend and approaches the surface south of Santa Cruz Island. The kink-band width (A-A’) of the Offshore Oak Ridge trend represents dip slip on the underlying Channel Islands thrust. The shallow fold and fault geometry along the Offshore Oak Ridge and Blue Bottle trends is depicted in Figure 7. Strike-slip motion out of the section plane may occur on the Santa Cruz Island fault; however, moderate displacements on this fault should not significantly effect our area balance and restoration, because the strike-slip fault trace is perpendicular to the section plane (Fig. 10A). SCIF = Santa Cruz Island fault. Horizontal equals vertical scale.
A simple tectonic model of the evolution of the Pacific-North American plate boundary that includes the Inner and Outer Borderland (IB, OB) and rotation of the western Transverse Ranges (WTR) province (from Nicholson et al, 1994). The model assumes a constant rate and direction of Pacific plate motion and constant rate of western Transverse Ranges rotation. As each partially subducted microplate is captured by the Pacific plate (Monterey, ~19 Ma; Arguello, ~17.5 Ma; Guadalupe and Magdalena, ~12 Ma), this results in a transfer of part of the over-riding North American upper plate to the Pacific plate. The fine gray lines provide a reference grid fixed to North America. ArP-Arguello plate; GP-Guadalupe plate; MtP-Monterey plate; SG-San Gabriel block; JdFP-Juan de Fuca plate; SLB-San Lucia Bank; SMB-Santa Maria basin; SB-southern Borderland;T-AFTosco- Arbreojos fault; MP-Magdalena plate. Red areas are regions of transtension; Purple areas are captured or soon to be captured microplates.
Regional seismic line WC82-108 showing the ~50 km wide Santa Rosa Ridge anticlinorium. Parallel bedding of pre-Pliocene strata indicates that this anticlinal structure formed post Miocene. The Cretaceous-Paleogene sedimentary rocks are eroded by the early Miocene unconformity (green) and truncate against basement (black arrows). Mapped reference horizons and faults are shown in color and in black, respectively.
A map view of 3D fault surfaces surrounding Santa Cruz basin in the northern Borderland. Depths down-dip along fault surfaces are shown as changing colors at even kilometer levels. The ESCB fault system is observed to be a gently east- to northeast-dipping, right stepping, en echelon reactivated reverse or oblique-reverse fault that bends to become more northerly dipping as it approaches Santa Cruz Island.
Preliminary map of geologic structures currently mapped using multichannel sparker, and recently released WesternGeco multichannel seismic-reflection profiles (modified from Chaytor, 2006). SCIF—Santa Cruz Island fault.
Strike Slip: 139. Why the spattering of felt reports at ~100 km? Shaking is amplified by sediments, but also, waves travel down, hit a discontinuity known as the Moho, and bounce back up at distances of 80-100 km #200EQFacts pic.twitter.com/aJEgo859YM — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 7, 2018 140. Not to be outdone by California, Oklahoma dishes up a M4.6 near Perry. But whereas intensities for the M5.3 CA quake are bang on expectations, intensities for the M4.6 are low relative to central US expectations. Induced earthquakes = low stress drop?! #200EQFacts pic.twitter.com/hZKJwXgoCb — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 7, 2018 Watch the #earthquake waves from the M5.3 earthquake in southern California roll across our network of seismic stations! https://t.co/SoZMmJpUek #ChannelIslandsEarthquake pic.twitter.com/W2XefDeIE0 — IRIS Earthquake Sci (@IRIS_EPO) April 6, 2018 137. Tsunamis might not be a major hazard along most of the California coast, but they are possible…as demonstrated by the 21 Dec. 1812 earthquake #200EQFacts pic.twitter.com/D0xa67RXC0 — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 6, 2018 https://t.co/6EvPXYh5VX https://t.co/bxn4MK1HCV — Volkan Sevilgen (@volkansevilgen) April 5, 2018 I was finally getting around to writing a report for the deep Bolivia earthquake (Bolivia report here), when a M 5.3 earthquake struck offshore of the channel islands (south of Santa Cruz Island, west of Los Angeles). As is typical when an earthquake hits a populated region in the USA, the USGS websites stopped working (for the earthquakes in South America I was researching). After about half an hour or so, the websites started working again (the M 5.3 earthquake website never had a problem). The Los Angeles region is dominated by the tectonics associated with the North America – Pacific transform plate boundary system of the San Andreas fault (SAF). The SAF accommodates the majority of plate motion between these two plates. There are sister faults where some of the plate boundary motion also goes. This plate boundary extends from the Pacific Ocean eastwards to Utah (the Wasatch fault system). The SAF is considered a “mature” strike-slip fault because it is straight along most of the system. We think that strike-slip faults start out as smaller faults that develop as tectonic strain enters a region that is different from prior strain. As time passes, these smaller faults join each other, to align with the great circle aligned to the euler pole (the axis of rotation for plates). The SAF does bend in some places, most notably in southern CA. This bend creates complexities in the fault, but also results in north-south compression (and thrust faults) forming the Transverse Ranges north of the LA Basin. Recent work by the California Geological Survey has been focusing on these thrust faults as they strike (trend) through Hollywood. These thrust faults are oriented east-west. There are also additional faults offshore of LA in what is called the borderlands. Many of these faults are sub-parallel to the SAF. The best example is the Newport Inglewood fault (NIF), the locus of the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. This fault is offshore, but also extends onshore. The NIF is generally a northwest-southeast striking right lateral strike-slip fault just like the SAF. Some of the east-west faults also extend offshore. Onshore, they are generally thrust faults, but less is known about what they do offshore (i.e. they could have some strike-slip motion too). Today’s earthquake happened south of Santa Catalina Island, where there is a major fault system that runs through the island: the Santa Cruz Island fault. This fault is mostly a left-lateral strike-slip fault, with a small portion of reverse (compression) motion (Pinter et al, 1998, 2001). If today’s M 5.3 is possibly related to the faults that form the Santa Cruz Basin. I provide some maps of this region below the interpretive poster. Based upon the work conducted by Schindler for their MS Thesis, Today’s earthquake appears associated with the East Santa Cruz Basin fault system (supporting that this was a left-lateral strike-slip earthquake). This is not included in the USGS active fault and fold database, but today’s earthquake suggests that it could be added. These sedimentary basins are most likely formed from extension when the orientation of strike slip faults is not parallel to the plate motion. These are called “pull apart” basins and are a result of “transtension.” Do an internet search for more about transtension and how pull apart basins can form. After one reads this report, check out the update here. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1918-2018 with magnitudes M ≥ 4.5. I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue and focal mechanisms in orange) for the M 5.3 earthquake, in addition to some relevant historic earthquakes.
EVOLUTION OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
Earthquake shaking hazards are calculated by projecting earthquake rates based on earthquake history and fault slip rates, the same data used for calculating earthquake probabilities. New fault parameters have been developed for these calculations and are included in the report of the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities. Calculations of earthquake shaking hazard for California are part of a cooperative project between USGS and CGS, and are part of the National Seismic Hazard Maps. CGS Map Sheet 48 (revised 2008) shows potential seismic shaking based on National Seismic Hazard Map calculations plus amplification of seismic shaking due to the near surface soils.
Map of the California Continental Borderland showing major tectonic features and moderate earthquake locations (M >5.5). The dashed box shows area of this study. The large arrows show relative plate motions for the Pacific-North America transform fault boundary (~N40° ± 2°W; RM2 and PA-1 [Plattner et al., 2007]). BP = Banning Pass, CH = Chino Hills, CP = Cajon Pass, LA = Los Angeles, PS = Palm Springs, V = Ventura, ESC = Santa Cruz Basin, ESCBZ = East Santa Cruz Basin fault zone, SCI = Santa Catalina Island, SCL = San Clemente Island, SMB = Santa Monica Basin, and SNI = San Nicolas Island. Base map from GeoMapApp/Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) [Ryan et al., 2009].
Chronology of major Cenozoic events in the Southern California region (after Wright [1991] and Legg and Kamerling [2012]). Intensity of tectonic deformation is represented by the curve. Local (Los Angeles Basin) biostratigraphic zonation is shown. The slanted labels for Neogene stages represent the time-transgressive nature of these boundaries.
Map showing bathymetry, Quaternary faults, and recent seismicity in the Outer Borderland. Fault locations are based on the high-resolution bathymetry, available high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, and published fault maps [cf. California Geological Survey (CGS), 2010]. The red symbols show magnitude-scaled (M>4) epicenters for seismicity recorded for the period of 1932 to 2013. Seismicity data and focal mechanisms are derived from the Southern California Seismograph Network catalogs, National Earthquake Information Center [2012–2013], and Legg [1980]. Focal mechanism event numbers correspond to Table S2 in the supporting information. The black rectangle shows location of Figure 10. The light blue lines show tracklines of multichannel seismic profiles—the labeled white profiles are shown in Figures 12 (124) and 13 (108 and 126).
Map showing major active tectonic elements of the northern part of the California Continental Borderland. Major active (Quaternary) faults are shown in red (SAF = San Andreas fault, ABF = Agua Blanca fault, SCF = San Clemente fault, and SCCR = Santa Cruz-Catalina Ridge, Ferrelo). Major strike-slip offsets are shown by shaded areas with estimated displacement (EK = Emery Knoll crater; Tanner Basin near DB = Dall Bank; and SDT = San Diego Trough, small pull-apart near Catalina). Other symbols show oblique fault character including transpressional restraining bends (CAT = Santa Catalina Island, CB = Cortes Bank, and TB = Tanner Bank), uplifts (SRI = Santa Rosa Island, SCz = Santa Cruz Island, SNI = San Nicolas Island, CB = Cortes Bank, TB = Tanner Bank, and SBM = San Bernardino Mountains), and transtensional pull-apart basins (SD = San Diego, ENS = Ensenada, SCB = San Clemente Basin, and SIB = San Isidro Basin). The large arrows show Pacific-North America relative plate motions with the blue dashed line (PAC-NAM) along a small circle for the RM2 [Minster and Jordan, 1978] plate motions model through San Clemente Island (SCL). Boundary between the Inner and Outer Borderland follows the East Santa Cruz Basin fault zone (dotted line; modified from Schindler [2010] and De Hoogh [2012]). Holocene volcanoes exist along the coast (SQ= San Quintín) and within the Gulf of California Rift (CP = Cerro Prieto and Obsidian Buttes, Salton Trough). Dates show year of earthquakes with mapped focal mechanisms (see Table S2 in the supporting information). SB = Santa Barbara, LA = Los Angeles, and PS = Palm Springs.
Probability density functions (PDFs) for the 19 turbidites (olive layers) in core MV0811-14JC and core SPR090106KC in Santa Barbara Basin generated from Bacon 2.2. Brackets show 95% confidence intervals. Estimate emergence times of the Newport-Inglewood Fault (Leeper et al., 2017) in pink, Ventura- Pitas Point Fault (Rockwell et al., 2016) in green, Ventura blind thrust fault (McAuliffe et al., 2015) in purple, Compton Thrust Fault (Leon et al., 2009) in yellow and the Goleta Slide Complex (Fisher et al., 2005)in gray. Age of slumped material in 14JC is indicated by wavy texture. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Cross-sectional profile A-B-C on Santa Rosa Island (see Fig. 3) showing corrected terrace elevations. SRIF shows the locations of the Santa Rosa Island fault. Error bars are the sum of the ±1 s uncertainties in wave-cut platform slope and the GPS measurement errors. Note the change in vertical exaggeration between the lower and upper plots. The green curve was qualitatively fit to the T2 data in order to create the smoothest possible curve that conforms to all points; other curves are scaled versions of the T2 curve. Point spacing is too coarse and error bars too large on the other levels to show deformation details, but the scaled curves show that every measured point is consistent with the pattern measured on T2.
General characteristics of a pull-apart basin in a dextral side-stepping fault system. The pull-apart basin is defined to develop in pure strike-slip when alpha = 0 degrees and in transtension when 0 degrees < alpha 45 degrees.
Plan view evolution of transtensional pull-apart basin model illustrated with: (a) time-lapse overhead photography; and (b) fault interpretation and incremental basin subsidence calculated from differential laser scans. Initial and final baseplate geometry shown with dashed lines; (c) basin topography at end of experiment.
Strike Slip: Did You Feel the M5.3 EQ that just took place off the Channel Islands, CA? Please let us know here: https://t.co/cHMIb35SOk pic.twitter.com/qhgXpT166c — USGS (@USGS) April 5, 2018 An #earthquake just occurred on our Santa Cruz Island bald eagle camera! Watch dad & his eaglets withstand the natural disaster. pic.twitter.com/b9AQqiZEqP — explore.org (@exploreorg) April 5, 2018 Figure 14 is a nice summary of active tectonic elements in this region: faults and recent earthquakes. Today's magnitude 5.3 seems to be similar to the 2005 magnitude 3.9 strike slip event on the Santa Rosa-Cortes Ridge (close region & focal mechanism) pic.twitter.com/Guk75RFwN3 — Lucile Bruhat (@seismolucy) April 5, 2018 Map of the felt reports received so far after M5.3 earthquake pic.twitter.com/VFUhTObCd6 — EMSC (@LastQuake) April 5, 2018 CGS @CalConservation monitoring CA coastal tide gauge recordings. — Cynthia Pridmore (@earthquakemom) April 5, 2018 Overall 11000 responses to the Did You Feel It? system for today's offshore M5.3 earthquake. Remember, "not felt" reports are welcome, too: they keep the map from being too biased by a handful of remote felt reports. pic.twitter.com/2rKdoh7BxV — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 5, 2018 Webcam view of the 5.3 earlier today in SoCal, from quite near the epicenter, on Santa Cruz Island https://t.co/Wm5D7ZDx6w — Austin Elliott (@TTremblingEarth) April 5, 2018 Earthquake eagles https://t.co/TS4tX26lBq — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) April 6, 2018 Offshore M5.3 apparently represented a successful test of the California earthquake early warning system: https://t.co/NOXdFnn4Q7 (also impressive given the poor station coverage near the epicenter) — Jascha Polet (@CPPGeophysics) April 6, 2018 #Earthquake hits Santa Barbara County, CA | M5.3 https://t.co/9aXSbk6zIA pic.twitter.com/0S6T9jIfYQ — Sismo EQ (@sismoecuador) April 6, 2018 M5.3 occurred on an unlabeled strike-slip fault in the southern California Borderland, some good visuals on the tectonics of this area can be found here:https://t.co/utfNoIywy6 pic.twitter.com/K67vLTMS8J — Jascha Polet (@CPPGeophysics) April 6, 2018 Great animation by Dr Tanya Atwater showing the evolution of southern California, including the Channel Islands which are near today's M5.3 #earthquake. pic.twitter.com/W3dJbDZtM6 — IRIS Earthquake Sci (@IRIS_EPO) April 5, 2018 View of cliffs along Santa Cruz Island during today’s earthquake. Dust rolls off cliffs as the temblor hit close to the Island, photo taken by a private fishing boat on scene during the quake. @VCFD pic.twitter.com/1lhCo9Cwqp — VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) April 5, 2018 5.4 mag earthquake off Santa Cruz Island. Felt the shaking here in LA City Hall. Checking earthquake early warning for details. @kwhudnut @USGS pic.twitter.com/s0DW2ktOIH — Jeff Gorell (@JeffGorell) April 5, 2018 Earthquake Early Warning System Worked, Gave Heads-Up Before 5.3 Temblor Hit Off SoCal Coast: Officials https://t.co/Ngzsr8DqeE via @ktla — Cynthia Pridmore (@earthquakemom) April 6, 2018 . @LastQuake Woahh Californians are launching LastQuake app IMMEDIATELY after the shaking! They're real time sensors #Earthquake #California pic.twitter.com/UVfkrr9VL8 — Real News Line (@RealNewsLine) April 5, 2018 This earthquake was the second earthquake in the state of CA to lead to major changes in how people in the state handled earthquake hazards and risk and today is the 47th anniversary of this earthquake. The first important earthquake was the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, which led to major changes in the building code (first in Long Beach, then later adopted by the entire state). These changes in the building code have continued to evolve and improve, eventually adopted globally. The 1971 M 6.7 Sylmar Earthquake (a little larger than the M 6.4 damaging earthquake sequence recently that happened in Taiwan) caused major damage to buildings and other infrastructure in southern CA (e.g a hospital was destroyed, which caused many casualties). The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was important too, so I don’t want the SAF to feel left out. Though the 1933 Long Beach and 1971 Sylmar earthquakes seem to have led to more significant changes in how people approach earthquake hazards and risk. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1918-2018 with magnitudes M ≥ 4.5.
Regional neotectonic map for metropolitan southern California showing major active faults. The Sierra Madre fault is a 75-km-long active reverse fault that extends along the northern edge of the metropolitan region. Fault locations are from Ziony and Jones (1989), Vedder et al. (1986), Dolan and Sieh (1992), Sorlien (1994), and Dolan et al. (1997, 2000b). Closed teeth denote reverse fault surface trace; open teeth on dashed lines show upper edge of blind thrust fault ramps. Strike-slip fault surface traces shown by double arrows. Star denotes location of Oak Hill paleoseismologic trench site of Bonilla (1973). CSI, Clamshell-Sawpit fault; ELATB, East Los Angeles blind thrust system; EPT, Elysian park blind thrust fault; Hol Fl, Hollywood fault; PHT, Puente Hills blind thrust fault; RMF, Red Mountain fault; SCII, Santa Cruz Island fault; SSF, Santa Susana fault; SJcF, San Jacinto fault; SJF, San Jose fault; VF, Verdugo fault; A, Altadena study site of Rubin et al. (1998); LA, Los Angeles; LB, Long Beach; LC, La Crescenta; M, Malibu; NB, Newport Beach; Ox, Oxnard; P, Pasadena; PH, Port Hueneme; S, Horsethief Canyon study site in San Dimas; V, Ventura. Dark shading denotes mountains.
Schematic block diagram showing interpreted tectonics in vicinity of LARSE line 1. Active faults are shown in orange, and moderate and large earthquakes are shown with orange stars and attached dates, magnitudes, and names. Gray half-arrows show relative motions on faults. Small white arrows show block motions in vicinities of bright reflective zones A and B (see Fig. 2A). Large white arrows show relative convergence direction of Pacific and North American plates. We interpret a master decollement ascending from bright reflective zone A at San Andreas fault, above which brittle upper crust is imbricating along thrust and reverse faults and below which lower crust is flowing toward San Andreas fault (brown arrows) and depressing Moho. Fluid injection, indicated by small lenticular blue areas, is envisioned in bright reflective zones A and B.
Shaded relief map of Los Angeles region, southern California, showing Quaternary faults (thin black lines, dotted where buried), shotpoints (gray and orange filled circles), seismographs (gray and orange lines), air-gun bursts (dashed yellow lines), and epicenters of earthquakes .M 5.8 since 1933 (focal mechanisms with attached magnitudes: 6.7a—Northridge [Hauksson et al., 1995], 6.7b—San Fernando [Heaton, 1982], 5.9—Whittier Narrows [Hauksson et al., 1988], 5.8—Sierra Madre [Hauksson, 1994], 6.3—Long Beach [Hauksson, 1987]). Faults are labeled in red; abbreviations: HF—Hollywood fault, MCF—Malibu Coast fault, MHF—Mission Hills fault, NHF—Northridge Hills fault, RF—Raymond fault, SF—San Fernando surface breaks, SSF—Santa Susana fault, SMoF—Santa Monica fault, SMFZ—Sierra Madre fault zone, VF—Verdugo fault. NH is Newhall.
(A) Significant earthquakes of M >= 4.8 that have occurred in the greater Los Angeles basin area since 1920. Aftershock zones are shaded with cross hatching, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Dotted areas indicate surface rupture, including the rupture of the 1857 earthquake along the San Andreas fault. (B) Lower hemisphere focal mechanisms (shaded quadrants are compressional) for significant earthquakes that have occurred since 1933 in the greater Los Angeles area.
Cross section down to 20 km depth across the central San Fernando Valley, including the 1971 Sylmar and 1994 Northridge earthquake zones. See Figure 2 for location of the section and Figure 3 for stratigraphic abbreviations. Wells are identified in the Appendix. Aftershock data for the 1971 (blue) and 1994 (red) earthquakes within a 10-km-wide strip including the line of this section are provided by Jim Mori at Kyoto University. Abbreviation for faults: MHF, Mission Hills fault; NHF, Northridge Hills fault; SSF, Santa Susana fault.
Cross section along part of line 2 with superposition of various data layers. A: Tomographic velocity model plus line drawing extracted from reflection data (see text); heavier black lines represent better-correlated or higher-amplitude phases. B: Velocity model plus relocated aftershocks of 1971 San Fernando and 1994 Northridge earthquakes (brown and blue dots, respectively); main shock focal mechanisms (far hemispheres) are red (San Fernando; Heaton, 1982) and blue (Northridge; Hauksson et al., 1995). Aftershocks are projected onto line 2 from up to 10 km east.
Similar to Fig. 3, with expanded depth and distance frame. See caption for Fig. 3 for definition of red, magneta, and blue lines; orange line—interpreted San Andreas fault (SAF); yellow lines—south-dipping reflectors of Mojave Desert and northern Transverse Ranges; “K” —reflection of Cheadle et al. (1986), which is out of plane of this section. SAF is not imaged directly; interpretation is based on approximate northward termination of upper reflections (best constrained) in San Fernando reflective zone (magenta lines). (See similar interpretation for SAF on line 1—Fig. 5.) Wells shown in Mojave Desert are (s) H&K Exploration Co., (t) Meridian Oil Co. (Dibblee, 1967). For well color key, see caption for Fig. 3. Thin, dashed yellow-orange line—estimated base of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Mojave Desert based on velocity. Darker, multicolored region (above region of light violet) represents part of velocity model where resolution ≥ 0.4 (see color bar).
Perspective view, looking from the SE, of the modeled Northridge and San Fernando thrusts. The Northridge thrust stops at a depth of about 6 km, and its upper tip east of the lateral ramp (Fig. 4) terminates almost against the San Fernando thrust, as was suggested by Morti et al. (1993). The San Fernando thrust loser tip is at a depth o 13 km, whereas the Northridge thrust lower tip is at 32 km.
Schematic geological map showing the position of the main faults and folds, as well as the depth contours (contour interval = 1 km) of the Northridge (solid) and San Fernando (dashed) thrusts.
Cross-section through the San Fernando Valley with projected aftershocks of the 1994 Northridge earthquake and of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The Northridge aftershocks are projected from a distance of 1 km or less on each side of the cross-section (main shock projected from 2 km W), whereas those of the Sylmar earthquake are projected from 1.5 km or less (main shock projected from 5 km ESE). The sources that we used for near-surface geology and structure are Dibblee (1991) and a seismic line (Fig. 11). The large N-S changes in Upper Tertiary stratigraphic thicknesses in this region (Dibblee, 1991, 1992a), prevent detailed stratigraphic correlation across fault blocks (this figure and Fig. 12). This face suggests that the shallow faults and possible the deeper San Fernando thrust itself, are reactivating old normal faults of the southern margin of the Ventura Basin (Yeats, et al., 1994; Huftle and Yeats, 1996; Tsutsumi and Yeats, 1999). Location of cross-section is in Fig. 13.
Strike Slip: 128. The Los Angeles area remained quiet, earthquake-wise, during post-WW2 growth. Lull was broken with M6.6 Sylmar earthquake on morning of 9 Feb. 1971, 47 yrs ago #OTD. 1.25g recorded at Pacoima Dam, highest PGA recorded to-date at that time. #200EQFacts pic.twitter.com/q1UyFzqRUw — Susan Hough (@SeismoSue) February 9, 2018 #OnThisDay in 1971, M6.7 EQ strikes San Fernando Valley, CA. Two hospitals suffered catastrophic damage (including partial collapse),killing 47. EQ spurred effort to better understand building seismic design & performance https://t.co/ukvwER1NEK pic.twitter.com/PmEJfqhzxp — USGS (@USGS) February 9, 2018 47 years ago this very minute: The 6.7 #Sylmar Earthquake. Were you there (The Militant may or may not have been)? #SFV https://t.co/LYkULwYGwk — Militant Angeleno (@militantangleno) February 9, 2018 On this day in 1971, the #SanFernando (aka #Sylmar) #earthquake struck in the San Gabriel Mountains. Although a sparsely populated area, 65 people died and more than 2,000 people were injured. Property damage was estimated at $505 million. Be quake ready: https://t.co/LJAQBv9ysm. pic.twitter.com/pLeLlbQWRC — CEA (@CalQuake) February 9, 2018 A photo of the Olive View Hospital that was damaged during the Sylmar earthquake, which struck #OTD in 1971. @LAPLPhotos: https://t.co/WgWbLv4gUN pic.twitter.com/l65l9j00YE — ICW: California & The West (@HUSC_ICW) February 10, 2018 Today is the anniversary of the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake. Our article on how the collapse of 12 freeway overpasses that morning changed freeway construction in Southern California: https://t.co/xz0YTN7u9U — Metro Library (@MetroLibrary) February 9, 2018 February 9: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History (1971: The 6.6 Sylmar Earthquake jolts L.A., bringing down freeway overpasses) https://t.co/1ndsnV1gXP — Metro Library (@MetroLibrary) February 9, 2018 Fifty-two people died in the collapse of several concrete structures, including buildings at the San Fernando Veterans Administration Hospital, above, in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Such structures are targets for seismic retrofits in L.A. https://t.co/K3Lx8WtoUq — Christian Joli (@ChristianJoli) January 4, 2018 February 1971 – 6.6 Sylmar Earthquake Shakes the Southland https://t.co/8RRgSgaRMq pic.twitter.com/pDcVHKFcdf — KCET-TV SoCal (@KCET) August 26, 2016 In the 1971 San Fernando quake #OTD the Santa Susanna Mountains grew by 2 feet. pic.twitter.com/BN5DPQV4OG — Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) February 10, 2018 Naturally a lot of Northridge guesses, bc I appear to have successfully come off as an Angeleno. BUT I wasn't one til I moved from Minnesota in '97. — Austin Elliott (@TTremblingEarth) February 10, 2018 There was an earthquake last night (local time) in Berkeley, aligned with the Hayward fault. The Hayward fault is one of the synthetic sister faults to the San Andreas fault, the major player in the dextral (right-lateral, strike-slip) plate boundary between the Pacific plate and the North America plate to the east. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1917-2017 with magnitudes M > 4.0. Creepmeter & tiltmeter data show the #earthquake. Looks like there was a creep event at COZ (Oakland Zoo) south of the epicentral region (near CTM) prior to the EQ? Hard to see on the automatic plots; red rate change line is on the page and not my annotation. pic.twitter.com/T4FrrdSTlv — Danielle Madugo (@DanielleVerdugo) January 4, 2018 Using @USGS data, this plot shows there was a ~ 0.1mm creep event at the Oakland Zoo (COZ) creepmeter ~ 5 hours prior to the Berkeley #earthquake this early morning! Both the COZ & CTM (the closest creepmeter to the epicenter) appear to register the temblor and creep events! pic.twitter.com/YJHXK6E3ht — Danielle Madugo (@DanielleVerdugo) January 4, 2018 Updated version of Hayward Fault locking map from Manoo @shirzaei similar to his 2013 paper with today’s M4.4 as large green circle at edge of locked patch. My previous tweet was incorrect. Yellow and white is locked part of fault. Red is creeping. pic.twitter.com/jX1rRObmHr — Eric Fielding (@EricFielding) January 4, 2018 LA Times article about the earthquake by @ronlin : Magnitude 4.5 earthquake rumbles across Bay Area but no damage reported https://t.co/Gv1gHDGXtL — Tim Dawson (@timblor) January 4, 2018 Incredible #Berkeley #earthquake data being provided by #citizenscience from the @MyShakeApp. Thank you – download the app. pic.twitter.com/BuURhlg607 — Richard Allen (@RAllenQuakes) January 4, 2018 Seismograms showing today's M4.4 Berkeley area quake recorded at our Bay Area seismic stations. pic.twitter.com/rOKhYEQnML — Berkeley Seismo Lab (@BerkeleySeismo) January 4, 2018 — temblor (@temblor) January 4, 2018 What Your Fitbit and Smartphone Saw During That 4.4 Quake https://t.co/GZhjAOhHMy pic.twitter.com/np2bqJfmiw — KQED (@KQED) January 11, 2018
Geologic sketch map of the northern Coast Ranges, central California, showing faults with Quaternary activity and basin deposits in northern section of the San Andreas fault system. Fault patterns are generalized, and only major faults are shown. Several Quaternary basins are fault bounded and aligned parallel to strike-slip faults, a relation most apparent along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek-Maacama fault trend.
Maps showing the regional setting of the Rodgers Creek–Maacama fault system and the San Andreas fault in northern California. (A) The Maacama (MAFZ) and Rodgers Creek (RCFZ) fault zones and related faults (dark red) are compared to the San Andreas fault, former and present positions of the Mendocino Fracture Zone (MFZ; light red, offshore), and other structural features of northern California. Other faults east of the San Andreas fault that are part of the wide transform margin are collectively referred to as the East Bay fault system and include the Hayward and proto-Hayward fault zones (green) and the Calaveras (CF), Bartlett Springs, and several other faults (teal). Fold axes (dark blue) delineate features associated with compression along the northern and eastern sides of the Coast Ranges. Dashed brown line marks inferred location of the buried tip of an east-directed tectonic wedge system along the boundary between the Coast Ranges and Great Valley (Wentworth et al., 1984; Wentworth and Zoback, 1990). Dotted purple line shows the underthrust south edge of the Gorda–Juan de Fuca plate, based on gravity and aeromagnetic data (Jachens and Griscom, 1983). Late Cenozoic volcanic rocks are shown in pink; structural basins associated with strike-slip faulting and Sacramento Valley are shown in yellow. Motions of major fault blocks and plates relative to fi xed North America, from global positioning system and paleomagnetic studies (Argus and Gordon, 2001; Wells and Simpson, 2001; U.S. Geological Survey, 2010), shown with thick black arrows; circled numbers denote rate (in mm/yr). Restraining bend segment of the northern San Andreas fault is shown in orange; releasing bend segment is in light blue. Additional abbreviations: BMV—Burdell Mountain Volcanics; QSV—Quien Sabe Volcanics. (B) Simplifi ed map of color-coded faults in A, delineating the principal fault systems and zones referred to in this paper.
EVOLUTION OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
Earthquake shaking hazards are calculated by projecting earthquake rates based on earthquake history and fault slip rates, the same data used for calculating earthquake probabilities. New fault parameters have been developed for these calculations and are included in the report of the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities. Calculations of earthquake shaking hazard for California are part of a cooperative project between USGS and CGS, and are part of the National Seismic Hazard Maps. CGS Map Sheet 48 (revised 2008) shows potential seismic shaking based on National Seismic Hazard Map calculations plus amplification of seismic shaking due to the near surface soils.
[FAQ] Why/When does the USGS update the magnitude of an earthquake? https://t.co/4I1in2iOdT pic.twitter.com/I0vc4jzkaB — USGS (@USGS) January 4, 2018
This morning there was a small earthquake in a region of northern California between two major faults that are part of the Pacific-North America plate boundary. The M 4.3 earthquake occurred between the San Andreas fault (SAF) to the west and the Maacma fault (MF) to the east. There are no mapped earthquake faults in this region. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I include earthquake epicenters from 1917-2017 with magnitudes M > 4.0.
Geologic sketch map of the northern Coast Ranges, central California, showing faults with Quaternary activity and basin deposits in northern section of the San Andreas fault system. Fault patterns are generalized, and only major faults are shown. Several Quaternary basins are fault bounded and aligned parallel to strike-slip faults, a relation most apparent along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek-Maacama fault trend.
Maps showing the regional setting of the Rodgers Creek–Maacama fault system and the San Andreas fault in northern California. (A) The Maacama (MAFZ) and Rodgers Creek (RCFZ) fault zones and related faults (dark red) are compared to the San Andreas fault, former and present positions of the Mendocino Fracture Zone (MFZ; light red, offshore), and other structural features of northern California. Other faults east of the San Andreas fault that are part of the wide transform margin are collectively referred to as the East Bay fault system and include the Hayward and proto-Hayward fault zones (green) and the Calaveras (CF), Bartlett Springs, and several other faults (teal). Fold axes (dark blue) delineate features associated with compression along the northern and eastern sides of the Coast Ranges. Dashed brown line marks inferred location of the buried tip of an east-directed tectonic wedge system along the boundary between the Coast Ranges and Great Valley (Wentworth et al., 1984; Wentworth and Zoback, 1990). Dotted purple line shows the underthrust south edge of the Gorda–Juan de Fuca plate, based on gravity and aeromagnetic data (Jachens and Griscom, 1983). Late Cenozoic volcanic rocks are shown in pink; structural basins associated with strike-slip faulting and Sacramento Valley are shown in yellow. Motions of major fault blocks and plates relative to fi xed North America, from global positioning system and paleomagnetic studies (Argus and Gordon, 2001; Wells and Simpson, 2001; U.S. Geological Survey, 2010), shown with thick black arrows; circled numbers denote rate (in mm/yr). Restraining bend segment of the northern San Andreas fault is shown in orange; releasing bend segment is in light blue. Additional abbreviations: BMV—Burdell Mountain Volcanics; QSV—Quien Sabe Volcanics. (B) Simplifi ed map of color-coded faults in A, delineating the principal fault systems and zones referred to in this paper.
EVOLUTION OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
Earthquake shaking hazards are calculated by projecting earthquake rates based on earthquake history and fault slip rates, the same data used for calculating earthquake probabilities. New fault parameters have been developed for these calculations and are included in the report of the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities. Calculations of earthquake shaking hazard for California are part of a cooperative project between USGS and CGS, and are part of the National Seismic Hazard Maps. CGS Map Sheet 48 (revised 2008) shows potential seismic shaking based on National Seismic Hazard Map calculations plus amplification of seismic shaking due to the near surface soils.
Map showing location and geologic setting of the Franciscan Coastal Belt in the northern California Coast Ranges. Inset shows magnetic anomalies (in magenta) of Figure 2 in and near the Coastal Belt, mapped occurrences of basalt (black dots and areas), and associated fossil localities (numbered white X’s; listed in Table 1). Map units: fc—Franciscan False Cape terrane; KRt—Franciscan King Range terrane; Cob—Franciscan Coastal Belt, undivided; Yg—Franciscan Yager terrane; Cnb— Franciscan Central Belt; Eb—Franciscan Eastern Belt; um—ultramafi c rocks; MTJ— Mendocino triple junction; GVg—Great Valley Group; T—Tertiary cover; Q—alluvium, largely Quaternary. Stippled pattern near Fort Ross shows outcrop of Ohlson Ranch Formation. Magenta arrows labeled PAC and GOR show relative plate motion of Pacific and Gorda plates, respectively, relative to the North American plate (McCrory, 2000). Tiny box labeled MH—Marin Headlands (area of Fig. 8). Coastal Belt thrust is shown with thrust teeth. Geology was compiled and simplifi ed from Jennings (1977), Blake et al. (1992), Blake et al. (2002), Jayko et al. (1989), McLaughlin et al. (2000), U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological Survey (2006), and geologic mapping by R.J. McLaughlin northeast of Clear Lake and south of Willits. Southern part of the Coastal Belt thrust west and south of Willits is from (1) mapping by McLaughlin,
Filtered magnetic map of the Coastal Belt. See Langenheim et al. (2011) for details of filtering that places anomalies over magnetic sources and enhances anomalies for which sources are exposed or near surface. Magenta lines—margins of the belt, with the San Andreas fault on the west and the Coastal Belt thrust and other faults on the east. Dashed dark green lines—depositional contacts. Red lines— boundaries between the terranes of the Coastal Belt: Coastal Belt, undivided (Cob), False Cape terrane (fc), King Range terrane (KRt), and Yager terrane (Yg). The Wheatfield Fork terrane (WFt) is too narrow to show at the scale of the figure, but its extent along the eastern boundary of the Coastal Belt is circled in dark blue. Thin dark blue dotted lines separate structural domains discussed in text and shown in figure 6. Blue line—profile location of model shown in Figure 5B.
Structural domains and dips interpreted from filtered magnetic anomalies (Fig. 2). Layer dip from asymmetry of magnetic anomaly is shown. Dark blue lines separate domains discussed in text. Anomalies within area east of the Coastal Belt thrust may be caused by magnetic layers in the Coastal Belt beneath a thin sheet of Central Belt rocks in the hanging wall of the thrust. Anomalies colored green, blue, and lavender are discussed in text. WFt— Wheatfield Fork terrane. Dashed green line is outline of onshore Eel River basin.
Early this morning, I was awakened by a mild jolt. I thought, well, seems like a M 3+- nearby. I did not get out of bed. The main shaking lasted a couple of seconds, though it seemed that there was some additional shaking for several more seconds afterwards (secondary shaking? I live in the Manila Dunes, which overlie several kms of water saturated sediment. This earthquake is quite interesting. The hypocentral depth is about 20 km. The subduction zone fault has been modeled to be between 15 and 20 km depth at this location (McCrory et al., 2006, 2012). There is considerable uncertainty associated with this slab model (the “slab” refers to the downgoing oceanic lithosphere of the Gorda plate). If this earthquake were an interface event (on the subduction zone), the moment tensor would probably be a thrust fault solution. However, the USGS moment tensor is for a strike-slip earthquake. There was an M 4.8 earthquake on 2016.07.21 that had a similar orientation. Here are my two earthquake reports for that earthquake: (1) initial report and (2) update # 1. I also spoke with Bob McPherson about this earthquake and, without speaking for him, we agreed that this is indeed an interesting earthquake. I plot the seismicity from the past month, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend). I highlighted the north-south striking Big Lagoon fault with a yellow line. I also labeled Mt. Shasta. I placed labels for the three major thrust fault systems in this region (Big Lagoon fault zone, Mad River fault zone, and the Little Salmon fault zone). The Big Lagoon and Mad River fault zones have offshore strike-slip motion. Also, the Little Salmon fault probably also has significant strike-slip motion (Pollitz et al., 2010).
A: Mapped faults and fault-related ridges within Gorda plate based on basement structure and surface morphology, overlain on bathymetric contours (gray lines—250 m interval). Approximate boundaries of three structural segments are also shown. Black arrows indicated approximate location of possible northwest- trending large-scale folds. B, C:
Models of brittle deformation for Gorda plate overlain on magnetic anomalies modified from Raff and Mason (1961). Models A–F were proposed prior to collection and analysis of full-plate multibeam data. Deformation model of Gulick et al. (2001) is included in model A. Model G represents modification of Stoddard’s (1987) flexural-slip model proposed in this paper.
Proposed tectonic model for southern Chile. Partitioning of the oblique convergence vector between the Nazca plate and South American plate results in a dextral strike-slip fault zone in the magmatic arc and a northward moving forearc sliver. Modified after Lavenu and Cembrano (1999).
Left-hand panel: velocity field obtained after correcting the observed GPS velocity field (Fig. 3) for the effect of deformation associated with all GDZ, Juan de Fuca, and Explorer plate boundaries. The sources that contribute to the correction are faults #30–46 and 81 of Table 1. Right-hand panel: strain rate fields corresponding to the plotted velocity fields, represented by the amplitudes and directions of the principal strain rate axes (thick and thin line segments denoting a principal contractile or tensile strain rate axis, respectively) and rotation rate (indicated by color shading). It is derived from the velocity field using the velocity-gradient determination method described in appendix A of Pollitz & Vergnolle (2006).
Estimated right-lateral strike-slip rate on the Little Salmon fault as a function of strike-slip rate on the Russ fault. Reverse slip rate on the Mad River fault is held fixed at 10 mmyr−1. Slip rates are plotted with ±1 SD.
The 25 April 1992 M 7.1 earthquake was a wake up call for many, like all large magnitude earthquakes are. I plot the seismicity for a week beginning April 25, 1992, with color representing depth and diameter representing magnitude (see legend).. There are many different ways in which a landslide can be triggered. The first order relations behind slope failure (landslides) is that the “resisting” forces that are preventing slope failure (e.g. the strength of the bedrock or soil) are overcome by the “driving” forces that are pushing this land downwards (e.g. gravity). The ratio of resisting forces to driving forces is called the Factor of Safety (FOS). We can write this ratio like this: FOS = Resisting Force / Driving Force When FOS > 1, the slope is stable and when FOS < 1, the slope fails and we get a landslide. The illustration below shows these relations. Note how the slope angle α can take part in this ratio (the steeper the slope, the greater impact of the mass of the slope can contribute to driving forces). The real world is more complicated than the simplified illustration below.
Simplified tectonic map in the vicinity of the Cape Mendocino earthquake sequence. Stars, epicenters of three largest earthquakes; contours, Modified Mercalli intensities (values, Roman numerals) of main shock; open circles, strong motion instrument sites (adjacent numbers give peak horizontal accelerations in g). Abbreviations FT Fortuna; F Ferndale; RD, Rio Dell; S, Scotia; P, Petrolia; H, Honeydew; MF, Mendocino fault; CSZ, seaward edge of Cascadia subduction zone; and SAF, San Andreas fault.
Observed and predicted coseismic displacements for the Cape Mendocino main shock (epicenter located at star).
Tectonic configuration of the Gorda deformation zone and locations and source models for 1976–2010 M ≥ 5.9 earthquakes. Letters designate chronological order of earthquakes (Table 1 and Appendix A). Plate motion vectors relative to the Pacific Plate (gray arrows in main diagram) are from Wilson [1989], with Cande and Kent’s [1995] timescale correction.
Source models for earthquakes 25 April 1992, Mw = 6.9, open circles are from Waldhauser and Schaff ’s [2008] earthquake locations for 25 April 1992 (1806 UTC) to 26 April 1992 (0741 UTC)
(a) Coulomb stress changes imparted by the 1992 Mw = 6.9 Cape Mendocino earthquake (J) to the Cascadia subduction zone. Calculation depth is 8 km. Open circles are Waldhauser and Schaff [2008] earthquake locations for 25 April 1992 to 2 May 1992, 0–15 km depth. Seismicity data were cut off at 15 km depth to prevent interference from aftershocks of K and L. Cross section A‐A′ includes seismicity between 40.24°N and 40.36°N. Cross section B‐B′ includes seismicity between 40.36°N and 40.48°N. (b) Coulomb stress changes imparted by the 1992 Mw = 6.9 earthquake (J) to Mw = 6.5 and Mw = 6.6 shocks the next day (K and L). Stress change is resolved on the average of the orientations of K and L (strike 127°/dip 90°/rake 180°). Calculation depth is 21.5 km. (c) Calculated Coulomb stress changes imparted by M ≥ 5.9 shocks in 1983, 1987, and 1992 (C, E, and J) to the epicenters of K and L. The series of three colored numbers represent stress changes imparted by C, E, and J, respectively.
Today (possibly tonight at about 9 PM) is the birthday of the last known Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) earthquake. There is some evidence that there have been more recent CSZ earthquakes (e.g. late 19th century in southern OR / northern CA), but they were not near full margin ruptures (where the entire fault, or most of it, slipped during the earthquake). On this evening, 317 years ago, the Cascadia subduction zone fault ruptured as a margin wide earthquake. I here commemorate this birthday with some figures that are in two USGS open source professional papers. The Atwater et al. (2005) paper discusses how we came to the conclusion that this last full margin earthquake happened on January 26, 1700 at about 9 PM (there may have been other large magnitude earthquakes in Cascadia in the 19th century). The Goldfinger et al. (2012) paper discusses how we have concluded that the records from terrestrial paleoseismology are correlable and how we think that the margin may have ruptured in the past (rupture patch sizes and timing). The reference list is extensive and this is but a tiny snapshot of what we have learned about Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes. Brian Atwater and his colleagues have updated the Orphan Tsunami and produced a second edition available here for download and here for hard copy purchase (I have a hard copy). This figure shows how a subduction zone deforms between (interseismic) and during (coseismic) earthquakes. We also can see how a subduction zone generates a tsunami. Atwater et al., 2005.
Just before midnight on January 27, 1700 a tsunami struck the coasts of Japan without warning since no one in Japan felt the earthquake that must have caused it. Nearly 300 years later scientists and historians in Japan and the United States solved the mystery of what caused this “orphan tsunami” through careful analysis of historical records in Japan as well as oral histories of Native Americans, sediment deposits, and ghost forests of drowned trees in the Pacific Northwest of North America, a region also known as Cascadia. They learned that this geologically active region, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, not only hosts erupting volcanoes but also produces megathrust earthquakes capable of generating devastating, ocean-crossing tsunamis. By comparing the tree rings of dead trees with those still living they could tell when the last of these great earthquakes struck the region. The trees all died in the winter of 1699-1700 when the coasts of northern California, Oregon, and Washington suddenly dropped 1-2 m (3-6 ft.), flooding them with seawater. That much motion over such a large area requires a very large earthquake to explain it—perhaps as large as 9.2 magnitude, comparable to the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Such an earthquake would have ruptured the earth along the entire length of the 1000 km (600 mi) -long fault of the Cascadia Subduction Zone and severe shaking could have lasted for 5 minutes or longer. Its tsunami would cross the Pacific Ocean and reach Japan in about 9 hours, so the earthquake must have occurred around 9 o’clock at night in Cascadia on January 26, 1700 (05:00 January 27 UTC).
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) can create an animation of a historical tsunami like this one using the same too that they use for determining tsunami hazard in real time for any tsunami today: the Real-Time Forecasting of Tsunamis (RIFT) forecast model. The RIFT model takes earthquake information as input and calculates how the waves move through the world’s oceans, predicting their speed, wavelength, and amplitude. This animation shows these values through the simulated motion of the waves and as they race around the globe one can also see the distance between successive wave crests (wavelength) as well as their height (half-amplitude) indicated by their color. More importantly, the model also shows what happens when these tsunami waves strike land, the very information that PTWC needs to issue tsunami hazard guidance for impacted coastlines. From the beginning the animation shows all coastlines covered by colored points. These are initially a blue color like the undisturbed ocean to indicate normal sea level, but as the tsunami waves reach them they will change color to represent the height of the waves coming ashore, and often these values are higher than they were in the deeper waters offshore. The color scheme is based on PTWC’s warning criteria, with blue-to-green representing no hazard (less than 30 cm or ~1 ft.), yellow-to-orange indicating low hazard with a stay-off-the-beach recommendation (30 to 100 cm or ~1 to 3 ft.), light red-to-bright red indicating significant hazard requiring evacuation (1 to 3 m or ~3 to 10 ft.), and dark red indicating a severe hazard possibly requiring a second-tier evacuation (greater than 3 m or ~10 ft.).
Toward the end of this simulated 24-hours of activity the wave animation will transition to the “energy map” of a mathematical surface representing the maximum rise in sea-level on the open ocean caused by the tsunami, a pattern that indicates that the kinetic energy of the tsunami was not distributed evenly across the oceans but instead forms a highly directional “beam” such that the tsunami was far more severe in the middle of the “beam” of energy than on its sides. This pattern also generally correlates to the coastal impacts; note how those coastlines directly in the “beam” have a much higher impact than those to either side of it.
Offshore, Goldfinger and others (from the 1960’s into the 21st Century, see references in Goldfinger et al., 2012) collected cores in the deep sea. These cores contain submarine landslide deposits (called turbidites). These turbidites are thought to have been deposited as a result of strong ground shaking from large magnitude earthquakes. Goldfinger et al. (2012) compile their research in the USGS professional paper. This map shows where the cores are located. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/global/shake/casc9.0_expanded_peak_se/
18 April 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
Below I present a poster that shows a computer simulation that provides an estimate of the intensity of the ground shaking that may happen if the San Andreas fault slipped in a similar way that it did in 1906.
The USGS prepares these ShakeMap scenario maps so that we can have an estimate of the ground shaking from hypothetical earthquakes. I present a poster below that uses data from one of these scenarios. This is a scenario that is similar to what we think happened in 1906, but it is only a model.
There is lots about the 1906 Earthquake that I did not include, but this leaves me room for improvement for the years into the future, when we see this anniversary come again.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake
I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue and focal mechanisms in orange), possibly in addition to some relevant historic earthquakes.
Magnetic Anomalies
I include some inset figures. Some of the same figures are located in different places on the larger scale map below.
This series of block diagrams shows how the subduction zone along the west coast of North America transformed into the San Andreas Fault from 30 million years ago to the present. Starting at 30 million years ago, the westward- moving North American Plate began to override the spreading ridge between the Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate. This action divided the Farallon Plate into two smaller plates, the northern Juan de Fuca Plate (JdFP) and the southern Cocos Plate (CP). By 20 million years ago, two triple junctions began to migrate north and south along the western margin of the West Coast. (Triple junctions are intersections between three tectonic plates; shown as red triangles in the diagrams.) The change in plate configuration as the North American Plate began to encounter the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the San Andreas Fault. The northern Mendicino Triple Junction (M) migrated through the San Francisco Bay region roughly 12 to 5 million years ago and is presently located off the coast of northern California, roughly midway between San Francisco (SF) and Seattle (S). The Mendicino Triple Junction represents the intersection of the North American, Pacific, and Juan de Fuca Plates. The southern Rivera Triple Junction (R) is presently located in the Pacific Ocean between Baja California (BC) and Manzanillo, Mexico (MZ). Evidence of the migration of the Mendicino Triple Junction northward through the San Francisco Bay region is preserved as a series of volcanic centers that grow progressively younger toward the north. Volcanic rocks in the Hollister region are roughly 12 million years old whereas the volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Clear Lake region north of San Francisco Bay range from only few million to as little as 10,000 years old. Both of these volcanic areas and older volcanic rocks in the region are offset by the modern regional fault system. (Image modified after original illustration by Irwin, 1990 and Stoffer, 2006.)
Tectonic History of Western North America and Southern California
Some Relevant Discussion and Figures
Geologic Fundamentals
Compressional:
Extensional:
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
Southern CA
Earthquake Reports
Social Media
References:
Return to the Earthquake Reports page.
Earthquake Report: Channel Islands Update #1
There was lots of interest in this M 5.3 earthquake offshore of Ventura/Los Angeles, justifiably so. Southern California is earthquake country.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake
I include some inset figures.
USGS Earthquake Pages
These are from this current sequence
Some Relevant Discussion and Figures
Geologic Fundamentals
Compressional:
Extensional:
Social Media
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
Southern CA
Earthquake Reports
References:
Basic & General References
Specific References
Return to the Earthquake Reports page.
Earthquake Report: Channel Islands
To the north of SC Island, is the Santa Barbara Basin, an oceanic basin that preserves an excellent record of flood and earthquake triggered sedimentary deposits.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake
I include some inset figures.
USGS Earthquake Pages
These are from this current sequence
Some Relevant Discussion and Figures
This series of block diagrams shows how the subduction zone along the west coast of North America transformed into the San Andreas Fault from 30 million years ago to the present. Starting at 30 million years ago, the westward- moving North American Plate began to override the spreading ridge between the Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate. This action divided the Farallon Plate into two smaller plates, the northern Juan de Fuca Plate (JdFP) and the southern Cocos Plate (CP). By 20 million years ago, two triple junctions began to migrate north and south along the western margin of the West Coast. (Triple junctions are intersections between three tectonic plates; shown as red triangles in the diagrams.) The change in plate configuration as the North American Plate began to encounter the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the San Andreas Fault. The northern Mendicino Triple Junction (M) migrated through the San Francisco Bay region roughly 12 to 5 million years ago and is presently located off the coast of northern California, roughly midway between San Francisco (SF) and Seattle (S). The Mendicino Triple Junction represents the intersection of the North American, Pacific, and Juan de Fuca Plates. The southern Rivera Triple Junction (R) is presently located in the Pacific Ocean between Baja California (BC) and Manzanillo, Mexico (MZ). Evidence of the migration of the Mendicino Triple Junction northward through the San Francisco Bay region is preserved as a series of volcanic centers that grow progressively younger toward the north. Volcanic rocks in the Hollister region are roughly 12 million years old whereas the volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Clear Lake region north of San Francisco Bay range from only few million to as little as 10,000 years old. Both of these volcanic areas and older volcanic rocks in the region are offset by the modern regional fault system. (Image modified after original illustration by Irwin, 1990 and Stoffer, 2006.)
Geologic Fundamentals
Compressional:
Extensional:
Social Media
NO INDICATION of local tsunami generated from offshore M5.3 earthquake. pic.twitter.com/flm0ALVJag
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
Southern CA
Earthquake Reports
References:
Basic & General References
Specific References
Return to the Earthquake Reports page.
Earthquake Report: 1971 Sylmar, CA
A major positive result from the Sylmar Earthquake was the Alquist Priolo Act. The AP Act created a requirement to characterize all the active faults in the state of CA and to regulate how to consider how structures could be built in relation to these active faults. More about the AP Act can be found here. After several years of no support from the state, the CA Geological Survey has recently supported work in this regard, resulting in an update of their guidelines in how to apply the AP Act in Special Publication 42.
I put together a commemorative #EarthquakeReport interpretive poster to discuss the tectonics of the region. The San Andreas fault (SAF) system is the locus of ~75% of the Pacific-North America plate boundary motion. The SAF is in some places a mature fault with a single strand and in other places, there are multiple strands (e.g. the Elsinore, San Jacinto, and SAF in southern CA or the Maacama, Bartlett Springs, and SAF in northern CA). In southern CA, the SAF makes a bend (called the “Big Bend”) that forms a region of compression. This compression is realized in the form of thrust faults and folds, creating uplift forming the mountain ranges like the Santa Monica Mountains. Some of these thrust faults breach the ground surface and some are blind (they don’t reach the surface).
In 1971 there was a large earthquake (M 6.7) that caused tremendous amounts of damage in southern CA. A hospital was built along one of the faults and this earthquake caused the hospital to collapse killing many people. The positive result of this earthquake is that the Alquist Priolo Act was written and passed in the state legislature. I plot the moment tensor for the 1971 earthquake (Carena and Suppe, 2002).
Then, over 2 decades later, there was the M 6.7 Northridge Earthquake. This earthquake was very damaging. Here is a page that links to some photos of the damage. Here is the USGS website for this 1971 M 6.7 Sylmar Earthquake.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake
I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue and focal mechanisms in orange) for the M 6.7 earthquake, in addition to some of the significant earthquakes in southern CA.
I include some inset figures.
Some Relevant Discussion and Figures
Some Background Materials
Compressional:
Extensional:
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
Southern CA
Earthquake Reports
Documentaries
Social Media
Framed seismogram is the '99 7.1 Hector Mine quake in the Mojave. At age 13, I decided at 2:50 that morning that I'd study quakes. pic.twitter.com/jkVHAm8y2o References
Earthquake Report: Berkeley, CA (Hayward fault)
Over 35,000 people have reported their observations on the USGS “Did You Feel It?” website for this earthquake. If you live in this region, please visit this website and register your observations!
The San Andreas fault is a right-lateral strike-slip transform plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. The plate boundary is composed of faults that are parallel to sub-parallel to the SAF and extend from the west coast of CA to the Wasatch fault (WF) system in central Utah (the WF runs through Salt Lake City and is expressed by the mountain range on the east side of the basin that Salt Lake City is built within).
About 75% of the relative plate motion is accommodated along the SAF and its synthetic sister faults in the northern CA region. The rest of the plate boundary motion is accommodated along the Eastern CA shear zone and Walker Lane, along with the Central Nevada Seismic Belt, and the Wasatch fault systems. In Northern CA, there is about 33-37 mm/yr strain accumulated on the SAF plate boundary system. About 18-25 mm/yr is on the SAF, 8-11 mm/yr on the MF, and 5-7 mm/yr on the Bartlett Springs fault system (Geist and Andrews, 2000).
The three main faults in the region north of San Francisco are the SAF, the Hayward fault (HF), and the Calaveras fault (CF). However, there are several others that pose a risk to the inhabitants here. Most of the faults in the region are right-lateral strike-slip faults, just like the SAF.
2018-01-04 10:39:37 UTC 37.861°N 122.242°W 13.0 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72948801#executive
1984-03-27 03:36:35 UTC 37.741°N 122.121°W 7.0 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc1113184#executive
1987-05-11 06:45:47 UTC 37.809°N 122.187°W 4.4 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc100229#executive
1994-06-26 08:42:50 UTC 37.915°N 122.285°W 6.1 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc30051723#executive
2003-09-05 01:39:53 UTC 37.843°N 122.223°W 11.0 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc21305648#executive
2007-07-20 11:42:22 UTC 37.804°N 122.193°W 5.3 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc40199209#executive
2014-08-24 10:20:44 UTC 38.215°N 122.312°W 11.1 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72282711#executive
2015-08-17 13:49:17 UTC 37.837°N 122.232°W 4.7 km depth
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72507396#executive
Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake:
I use the USGS Quaternary fault and fold database for the faults.
I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue,focal mechanisms in orange) for some relevant historic earthquakes.
I include some inset figures.
UPDATE: 2018.01.10
More about the background seismotectonics
This series of block diagrams shows how the subduction zone along the west coast of North America transformed into the San Andreas Fault from 30 million years ago to the present. Starting at 30 million years ago, the westward- moving North American Plate began to override the spreading ridge between the Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate. This action divided the Farallon Plate into two smaller plates, the northern Juan de Fuca Plate (JdFP) and the southern Cocos Plate (CP). By 20 million years ago, two triple junctions began to migrate north and south along the western margin of the West Coast. (Triple junctions are intersections between three tectonic plates; shown as red triangles in the diagrams.) The change in plate configuration as the North American Plate began to encounter the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the San Andreas Fault. The northern Mendicino Triple Junction (M) migrated through the San Francisco Bay region roughly 12 to 5 million years ago and is presently located off the coast of northern California, roughly midway between San Francisco (SF) and Seattle (S). The Mendicino Triple Junction represents the intersection of the North American, Pacific, and Juan de Fuca Plates. The southern Rivera Triple Junction (R) is presently located in the Pacific Ocean between Baja California (BC) and Manzanillo, Mexico (MZ). Evidence of the migration of the Mendicino Triple Junction northward through the San Francisco Bay region is preserved as a series of volcanic centers that grow progressively younger toward the north. Volcanic rocks in the Hollister region are roughly 12 million years old whereas the volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Clear Lake region north of San Francisco Bay range from only few million to as little as 10,000 years old. Both of these volcanic areas and older volcanic rocks in the region are offset by the modern regional fault system. (Image modified after original illustration by Irwin, 1990 and Stoffer, 2006.)
San Andreas fault
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Central CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
References:
Earthquake Report: Laytonville (northern CA)!
The San Andreas fault is a right-lateral strike-slip transform plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates. The plate boundary is composed of faults that are parallel to sub-parallel to the SAF and extend from the west coast of CA to the Wasatch fault (WF) system in central Utah (the WF runs through Salt Lake City and is expressed by the mountain range on the east side of the basin that Salt Lake City is built within).
About 75% of the relative plate motion is accommodated along the SAF and its synthetic sister faults in the northern CA region. The rest of the plate boundary motion is accommodated along the Eastern CA shear zone and Walker Lane, along with the Central Nevada Seismic Belt, and the Wasatch fault systems. In Northern CA, there is about 33-37 mm/yr strain accumulated on the SAF plate boundary system. About 18-25 mm/yr is on the SAF, 8-11 mm/yr on the MF, and 5-7 mm/yr on the Bartlett Springs fault system (Geist and Andrews, 2000).
The three main faults in the region north of San Francisco are the SAF, the MF, and the Bartlett Springs fault (BSF). I also place a graphical depiction of the USGS moment tensor for this earthquake. The SAF, MF, and BSF are all right lateral strike-slip fault systems. There are no active faults mapped in the region of Sunday’s epicenter, but I interpret this earthquake to have right-lateral slip. Without more seismicity or mapped faults to suggest otherwise, this is a reasonable interpretation.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake.
I use the USGS Quaternary fault and fold database for the faults. I outlined the Vizcaino Block, which many interpret to be a prehistoric subduction zone accretionary prism from a time before the San Andreas existed.
I plot the USGS fault plane solutions (moment tensors in blue) for some relevant historic earthquakes.
I include some inset figures.
Below are some earthquake report posters for earthquakes in this region.
This series of block diagrams shows how the subduction zone along the west coast of North America transformed into the San Andreas Fault from 30 million years ago to the present. Starting at 30 million years ago, the westward- moving North American Plate began to override the spreading ridge between the Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate. This action divided the Farallon Plate into two smaller plates, the northern Juan de Fuca Plate (JdFP) and the southern Cocos Plate (CP). By 20 million years ago, two triple junctions began to migrate north and south along the western margin of the West Coast. (Triple junctions are intersections between three tectonic plates; shown as red triangles in the diagrams.) The change in plate configuration as the North American Plate began to encounter the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the San Andreas Fault. The northern Mendicino Triple Junction (M) migrated through the San Francisco Bay region roughly 12 to 5 million years ago and is presently located off the coast of northern California, roughly midway between San Francisco (SF) and Seattle (S). The Mendicino Triple Junction represents the intersection of the North American, Pacific, and Juan de Fuca Plates. The southern Rivera Triple Junction (R) is presently located in the Pacific Ocean between Baja California (BC) and Manzanillo, Mexico (MZ). Evidence of the migration of the Mendicino Triple Junction northward through the San Francisco Bay region is preserved as a series of volcanic centers that grow progressively younger toward the north. Volcanic rocks in the Hollister region are roughly 12 million years old whereas the volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Clear Lake region north of San Francisco Bay range from only few million to as little as 10,000 years old. Both of these volcanic areas and older volcanic rocks in the region are offset by the modern regional fault system. (Image modified after original illustration by Irwin, 1990 and Stoffer, 2006.)
interpretation of aeromagnetic anomalies, and 1:62,500 scale topography, and (2) that east of Point Arena is from photogeologic interpretation that resulted in a greater extent of mélange assigned to the Central Belt.
San Andreas fault earthquake reports
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Northern CA
Southern CA
Eastern CA
References:
Earthquake Report: Trinidad, California
crushing the Gorda plate), these northeast striking faults slip with a left-lateral strike-slip motion. Today’s M 3.5 earthquake is not oriented with a northeast orientation. However, as these faults extend northwards, the strike of the faults tend to rotate back with a more northerly strike. It is possible that the faults in the Gorda plate have a north-south strike in the region of today’s earthquake. If this were the case, this would be a north-south striking left-lateral strike-slip earthquake.Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake.
I include some inset figures in the poster.
Here is the interpretive poster for the 2016.07.21 Bayside Earthquake.
Uninterpreted and interpreted enlargements of center of plate showing location of interpreted second-generation strike-slip faults and features that they appear to offset. OSC—overlapping spreading center.
Cascadia subduction zone
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Gorda plate
Blanco fracture zone
Mendocino fault
Mendocino triple junction
North America plate
Explorer plate
References
Earthquake Report: 1992.04.25 M 7.1 Petrolia
I have some updated posters as of April 2021 (see below).
Here is my personal story.
I was driving my girlfriend’s car (Jen Guevara) with her and some housemates up to attend a festival at Redwood Park in Arcata. She lived in the old blue house at the base of the bridge abutment on the southwest side of HWY 101 as it crosses Mad River. The house burned down a couple of years ago, but these memories remain. We were driving along St. Louis and about to turn east to cross the 101 towards LK Wood. The car moved left and right. I pulled over as I thought we might have just gotten a flat tire. I got out, inspected the wheels, and there was no flat. We returned to our journey. When we arrived at the park, everyone was talking about how the redwood trees were flopping around like wet spaghetti during the earthquake. I then looked back in my memory and realized that, at the lumber mill that I had parked by when I got the imaginary flat tire, there were tall stacks of milled lumber flopping around. I had dismissed it that they were blowing in the wind. Silly me.
Later that night, I was at a reggae concert at the Old Creamery Building in Arcata. At some point, the lights flickered off and on. I figured that someone had accidentally brushed up against the light switch on the wall. BUT, this was the first of two large aftershocks.
Even later that night, actually the following morning, I was laying in bed with Jen. The house typically shook when large semi trucks crossed the 101 bridge. However, this time, the shaking had a much longer duration. This was the second of the two major aftershocks. I finally recognized this earthquake as an earthquake and not something else. To my credit, I was dancing during the first major aftershock.
Here is the USGS website for these three large earthquakes.
Here are some additional blogs about this earthquake.
Below is my interpretive poster for this earthquake.
I include some inset figures in the poster.
Below is my updated interpretive poster for this earthquake.
I include some inset figures in the poster.
Shaking Intensity and Potential for Ground Failure
Landslide ground shaking can change the Factor of Safety in several ways that might increase the driving force or decrease the resisting force. Keefer (1984) studied a global data set of earthquake triggered landslides and found that larger earthquakes trigger larger and more numerous landslides across a larger area than do smaller earthquakes. Earthquakes can cause landslides because the seismic waves can cause the driving force to increase (the earthquake motions can “push” the land downwards), leading to a landslide. In addition, ground shaking can change the strength of these earth materials (a form of resisting force) with a process called liquefaction.
Sediment or soil strength is based upon the ability for sediment particles to push against each other without moving. This is a combination of friction and the forces exerted between these particles. This is loosely what we call the “angle of internal friction.” Liquefaction is a process by which pore pressure increases cause water to push out against the sediment particles so that they are no longer touching.
An analogy that some may be familiar with relates to a visit to the beach. When one is walking on the wet sand near the shoreline, the sand may hold the weight of our body generally pretty well. However, if we stop and vibrate our feet back and forth, this causes pore pressure to increase and we sink into the sand as the sand liquefies. Or, at least our feet sink into the sand.
Below is a diagram showing how an increase in pore pressure can push against the sediment particles so that they are not touching any more. This allows the particles to move around and this is why our feet sink in the sand in the analogy above. This is also what changes the strength of earth materials such that a landslide can be triggered.
Below is a diagram based upon a publication designed to educate the public about landslides and the processes that trigger them (USGS, 2004). Additional background information about landslide types can be found in Highland et al. (2008). There was a variety of landslide types that can be observed surrounding the earthquake region. So, this illustration can help people when they observing the landscape response to the earthquake whether they are using aerial imagery, photos in newspaper or website articles, or videos on social media. Will you be able to locate a landslide scarp or the toe of a landslide? This figure shows a rotational landslide, one where the land rotates along a curvilinear failure surface.
The Cascadia subduction zone
I have compiled some literature about the CSZ earthquake and tsunami. Here is a short list that might help us learn about what is contained within the core that I collected.
1992 Cape Mendocino Earthquake and Tsunami
Below is an updated interpretive poster for this earthquake sequence that focuses on the mechanisms.
Here is the USGS website for all the earthquakes in this region from 1917-2017 with M ≥ 6.5.
Cascadia subduction zone
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Gorda plate
Blanco fracture zone
Mendocino fault
Mendocino triple junction
North America plate
Explorer plate
References
Earthquake Report: 1700 Cascadia subduction zone 317 year commemoration
I have been posting material about the CSZ for the past couple of years here and below are some prior Anniversary posts, as well as Earthquake Reports sorted according to their region along the CSZ. Below I present some of the material included in those prior reports (to help bring it all together), but I have prepared a new map for today’s report as well.
Cascadia subduction zone
General Overview
Earthquake Reports
Gorda plate
Blanco fracture zone
Mendocino fault
North America plate
Explorer plate
Here is a map of the Cascadia subduction zone, modified from Nelson et al. (2006). The Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates subduct northeastwardly beneath the North America plate at rates ranging from 29- to 45-mm/yr. Sites where evidence of past earthquakes (paleoseismology) are denoted by white dots. Where there is also evidence for past CSZ tsunami, there are black dots. These paleoseismology sites are labeled (e.g. Humboldt Bay). Some submarine paleoseismology core sites are also shown as grey dots. The two main spreading ridges are not labeled, but the northern one is the Juan de Fuca ridge (where oceanic crust is formed for the Juan de Fuca plate) and the southern one is the Gorda rise (where the oceanic crust is formed for the Gorda plate).
Today I prepared this new map showing the results of shakemap scenario model prepared by the USGS. I prepared this map using data that can be downloaded from the USGS website here. Shakemaps show what we think might happen during an earthquake, specifically showing how strongly the ground might shake. There are different measures of this, which include Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Peak Ground Velocity (PGV), and Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI). More background information about the shakemap program at the USGS can be found here. One thing that all of these measures share is that they show that there is a diminishing of ground shaking with distance from the earthquake. This means that the further from the earthquake, the less strongly the shaking will be felt. This can be seen on the maps below. The USGS prepares shakemaps for all earthquakes with sufficiently large magnitudes (i.e. we don’t need shakemaps for earthquakes of magnitude M = 1.5). An archive of these USGS shakemaps can be found here. All the scenario USGS shakemaps can be found here.
I chose to use the MMI representation of ground shaking because it is most easily comparable for people to understand. This is because MMI scale is designed based upon relations between ground shaking intensity and observations that people are able to make (e.g. how strongly they felt the earthquake, how much objects in their residences or places of business responded, how much buildings were damaged, etc.).
The MMI ground motion model is based upon a computer model estimate of ground motions, different from the “Did You Feel It?” estimate of ground motions that is actually based on real observations. More on the MMI scale can be found here and here.
Here is the USGS version of this map. The outline of the fault that was used to generate the ground motions that these maps are based upon is outlined in black.
I prepared an end of the year summary for earthquakes along the CSZ. Below is my map from this Earthquake Report.
I include some inset figures in the poster.
I have compiled some literature about the CSZ earthquake and tsunami. Here is a short list that might help us learn about what is contained within the core that I collected.
Here is a version of the CSZ cross section alone (Plafker, 1972).
Here is an animation produced by the folks at Cal Tech following the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone earthquake. I have several posts about that earthquake here and here. One may learn more about this animation, as well as download this animation here.
Here is a graphic showing the sediment-stratigraphic evidence of earthquakes in Cascadia. Atwater et al., 2005. There are 3 panels on the left, showing times of (1) prior to earthquake, (2) several years following the earthquake, and (3) centuries after the earthquake. Before the earthquake, the ground is sufficiently above sea level that trees can grow without fear of being inundated with salt water. During the earthquake, the ground subsides (lowers) so that the area is now inundated during high tides. The salt water kills the trees and other plants. Tidal sediment (like mud) starts to be deposited above the pre-earthquake ground surface. This sediment has organisms within it that reflect the tidal environment. Eventually, the sediment builds up and the crust deforms interseismically until the ground surface is again above sea level. Now plants that can survive in this environment start growing again. There are stumps and tree snags that were rooted in the pre-earthquake soil that can be used to estimate the age of the earthquake using radiocarbon age determinations. The tree snags form “ghost forests.
Here is a photo of the ghost forest, created from coseismic subsidence during the Jan. 26, 1700 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. Atwater et al., 2005.
Here is a photo I took in Alaska, where there was a subduction zone earthquake in 1964. These tree snags were living trees prior to the earthquake and remain to remind us of the earthquake hazards along subduction zones.
This shows how a tsunami deposit may be preserved in the sediment stratigraphy following a subduction zone earthquake, like in Cascadia. Atwater et al., 2005. If there is a source of sediment to be transported by a tsunami, it will come along for the ride and possibly be deposited upon the pre-earthquake ground surface. Following the earthquake, tidal sediment is deposited above the tsunami transported sediment. Sometimes plants that were growing prior to the earthquake get entombed within the tsunami deposit.
The NOAA/NWS/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has updated their animation of the simulation of the 1700 “Orphan Tsunami.”
Source: Nathan C. Becker, Ph.D. nathan.becker at noaa.gov
Below are some links and embedded videos.
Here is the text associated with this animation:
Here is an example of how these “seismoturbidites” have been correlated. The correlations are the basis for the interpretation that these submarine landslides were triggered by Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes. This correlation figure demonstrates how well these turbidites have been correlated. Goldfinger et al., 2012.
This map shows the various possible prehistoric earthquake rupture regions (patches) for the past 10,000 years. Goldfinger et al., 2012. These rupture scenarios have been adopted by the USGS hazards team that determines the seismic hazards for the USA.
Here is an update of this plot given new correlations from recent work (Goldfinger et al., 2016).
Here is a plot showing the earthquakes in a linear timescale.
I combined the plot above into another figure that includes all the recurrence intervals and segment lengths in a single figure. This is modified from Goldfinger et al. (2012).
References: