Southern California faults

Most of central and northern California rests on a crustal block (terrane) that is being torn from the North American continent by the passing Pacific Plate of oceanic crust. Southern California lies at the southern end of this block, where the Southern California faults create a complex and even chaotic landscape of seismic activity.

Seismic, geologic, and other data has been integrated by the Southern California Earthquake Center (renamed “Statewide California Earthquake Center” in October 2023) to produce the Community Fault Model (CFM) database that documents over 140 faults in southern California considered capable of producing moderate to large earthquakes.^[1] A three-dimensional (3D) model has been derived that can be viewed with suitable visualization software (see image).^[2] The probability of a serious earthquake on various faults has been estimated in the 2008 Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast. According to the United States Geological Survey, Southern California experiences nearly 10,000 earthquakes every year.^[3] Details on specific faults can be found in the USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database.

References

Notes

^ Plesch & others 2007.
^ See External links for download url.
^ "Cool Earthquake Facts | U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

Bibliography

Plesch, A.; et al. (December 2007), "Community Fault Model (CFM) for Southern California" (PDF), Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 97 (6): 1793–1802, Bibcode:2007BuSSA..97.1793P, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.468.4206, doi:10.1785/0120050211

External links

U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold DatabaseA complete listing of known, geologically recent faults.
Statewide California Earthquake Center
Community Fault Model site, with images.

[1] Plesch & others 2007.

[2] See External links for download url.

[3] "Cool Earthquake Facts | U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-05.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Seismically active fault zones and tectonic blocks of California
Statewide Faults	San Andreas Fault Salinian Block
Southern California	Brawley Seismic Zone Chino Fault Elsinore Fault Zone Elysian Park Fault Garlock Fault Hollywood fault Hosgri Fault Imperial Fault Zone Laguna Salada Fault Newport–Inglewood Fault Northridge Blind Thrust Fault Peninsular Ranges Puente Hills Fault Raymond Fault Rose Canyon Fault Salton Trough San Cayetano Fault San Diego Trough Fault Zone San Felipe Fault Zone San Gabriel Fault San Jacinto Fault Zone Santa Maria River Fault Santa Ynez Fault Shoreline Fault Sierra Madre Fault Zone Ventura Fault White Wolf Fault Whittier Fault Yorba Linda Fault
Northern California	Bartlett Springs Fault Calaveras Fault Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault Concord Fault Hayward Fault Zone Healdsburg Fault Maacama Fault Mendocino Fracture Zone Mendocino Triple Junction Mount Diablo Thrust Fault Monta Vista Fault Nacimiento Fault Pleasanton Fault Rinconada Fault San Gregorio Fault San Pablo Fault Seal Cove Fault Serra Fault Silver Creek Fault Tesla Fault West Napa Fault
Sierra Nevada	Death Valley Fault Zone Furnace Creek Fault Zone Honey Lake Fault Zone Kern Canyon Fault Maria fold and thrust belt Owens Valley Fault Rescue Lineament-Bear Mountains fault zone Sierra Nevada Batholith Sierra Nevada Fault Sierra Nevada-Great Valley Block Smartville Block Walker Lane
Category California Geological Survey Seismic Hazards Mapping Act Mexico (list)

See also

References

External links