The Wasatch fault zone, utah-segmentation and history of Holocene earthquakes
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
The Wasatch fault zone (WFZ) forms the eastern boundary of the Basin and Range province and is the longest continuous, active normal fault (343 km) in the United States. It underlies an urban corridor of 1.6 million people (80% of Utah's population) representing the largest earthquake risk in the interior of the western United States.
We have used paleoseismological data to identify 10 discrete segments of the WFZ. Five are active, medial segments with Holocene slip rates of 1–2 mm a−1, recurrence intervals of 2000–4000 years and average lengths of about 50 km. Five are less active, distal segments with mostly pre-Holocene surface ruptures, late Quaternary slip rates of <0.5 mm a−1 recurrence intervals of ≥10,000 years and average lengths of about 20 km. Surface-faulting events on each of the medial segments of the WFZ formed 2–4-m-high scarps repeatedly during the Holocene; latest Pleistocene (14–15 ka) deposits commonly have scarps as much as 15–20 m in height. Segments identified from paleoseismological studies of other major late Quaternary normal faults in the northern Basin and Range province are 20–25 km long, or about half of that proposed for the medial segments of the WFZ.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The Wasatch fault zone, utah-segmentation and history of Holocene earthquakes |
| Series title | Journal of Structural Geology |
| DOI | 10.1016/0191-8141(91)90062-N |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 1991 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Description | 13 p. |
| First page | 137 |
| Last page | 149 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |