{"id":2090,"date":"2015-01-28T14:08:46","date_gmt":"2015-01-28T22:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earthjay.com\/?p=2090"},"modified":"2015-01-28T14:08:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-28T22:08:46","slug":"mendocino-fault-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthjay.com\/?p=2090","title":{"rendered":"Mendocino fault earthquake 1\/28\/15 1:08 PM local time"},"content":{"rendered":"

We just had a good sized shaker, probably on the Mendocino fault system. Today’s earthquake occurred on 1\/28\/2015 at 1:08 local time. The mainshock, an earthquake of magnitude Mw = 5.7<\/a>, has an epicenter approximately 20 km due west of the mouth of the Mattole River. Please check back here soon as I am updating this page rapidly. I have now plotted one of the foreshocks in my interpretation figure below, a magnitude 3.2 earthquake that plots west of the Mw 5.7 mainshock. The M 3.2<\/a> happened on 1\/25\/15.
\nWe do NOT expect a tsunami from this earthquake. The magnitude is small and the type of earthquake is strike slip.
\nAccording to the NCSS, there is a high likelihood of aftershocks. Read their statement here<\/a>.
\nHere is a map showing the mainshock (the largest orange dot). The USGS active faults are also shown. There is also a big red dot, but that is plotted incorrectly.
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\nHere is a more localized map, showing the shape of the seafloor as it relates to the deformation of the Mendocino Transform fault plate boundary. The Mendocino fault is a right-lateral strike-slip fault that separates the Gorda plate to the north from the Pacific plate to the south.
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\nHere is a map with some interpretations plotted on it. I have labeled the three plate boundary faults along with their sense of motion. I have also placed the moment tensor of the Mw 5.7 main shock on this map. I have drawn two red lines of possible faults that may be responsible for for the earthquakes that ruptured today.
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\nThere 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. Many of the earthquakes people are familiar with in the Mendocino triple junction region are either compressional or strike slip. The following three animations are from IRIS<\/a>.
\nStrike Slip:
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