| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
MACKAY SCHOOL OF MINES UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO, NEVADA 89507
Abstract
Maps of tectonic flux are presented for the conterminous United States west of longitude 109°W, for periods of time before and after 1932, and for the entire historic period through 1961. The most active continuous seismic zone in this region during historic time extended over 750 km, from a point off the California coast near Ventura to Winnemucca in north-central Nevada. Although this zone is characterized by a discontinuous line of historic surface faulting, it is neither sharply defined by, nor closely related to structures along its path that are generally considered to be the major tectonic elements of the region.
The broad areal extent of this, and five other active zones, suggests that the tectonic processes causing earthquakes and surface faulting in the western United States are distributed over broad regions, and are not confined to geologic or physiographic provinces.
Seismicity maps for different periods indicate that seismic activity in some areas has shifted with time. Within major seismic zones, gaps in the seismicity pattern are filled in by successive large earthquakes.
Recurrence curves support a high level of activity for the Ventura-Winnemucca zone, and they indicate a lower rate of activity for the San Andreas fault zone than for other areas in the region studied. Recurrence curves for the central California area indicate that the rate of activity in a given region may remain practically constant over periods at least as long as a century, whether or not large earthquakes occur in the region during those periods.
There appears to be a general correlation between observed shear or slippage, and the seismicity of any given region.
Based on these results, it is proposed that, where historic faulting has occurred in areas with little or no historic seismic activity, such faulting is due to the propagation of fractures into the inactive areas from adjoining seismic zones.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. B. Mason Earthquake magnitude potential of the Intermountain Seismic Belt, USA, from surface-parameter scaling of late Quaternary faults Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1996; 86(5): 1487 - 1506. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. C. THENHAUS and T. P. BARNHARD Regional termination and segmentation of quaternary fault belts in the Great Basin, Nevada and Utah Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1989; 79(5): 1426 - 1438. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. N. MACHETTE Documentation of benchmark photographs that show the effects of the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake with some considerations for studies of scarp degradation Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1987; 77(3): 771 - 783. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. M. JONES and R. S. DOLLAR Evidence of basin-and-range extensional tectonics in the Sierra Nevada: The Durrwood Meadows swarm, Tulare county, California (1983-1984) Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1986; 76(2): 439 - 461. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. F. Howell Jr. On the variation of seismic hazard along the San Andreas fault Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1984; 74(2): 709 - 723. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. E. WALLACE and R. A. WHITNEY Late quaternary history of the Stillwater seismic gap, Nevada Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1984; 74(1): 301 - 314. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. RYALL and F. RYALL Spatial-temporal variations in seismicity preceding the May 1980, Mammoth Lakes, California, earthquakes Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1981; 71(3): 747 - 760. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. J. ARABASZ, R. B. SMITH, and W. D. RICHINS Earthquake studies along the Wasatch front, Utah: Network monitoring, seismicity, and seismic hazards Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1980; 70(5): 1479 - 1499. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D. VANWORMER and A. S. RYALL Sierra Nevada-Great Basin boundary zone: Earthquake hazard related to structure, active tectonic processes, and anomalous patterns of earthquake occurrence Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1980; 70(5): 1557 - 1572. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. S. RYALL and J. D. VANWORMER Estimation of maximum magnitude and recommended seismic zone changes in the western Great Basin Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1980; 70(5): 1573 - 1581. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. W. KLEIN Earthquakes in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1979; 69(3): 867 - 875. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. M. ROGERS, D. M. PERKINS, and F. A. MCKEOWN A preliminary assessment of the seismic hazard of the Nevada Test Site region Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1977; 67(6): 1587 - 1606. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. RYALL Earthquake hazard in the Nevada region Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1977; 67(2): 517 - 532. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. M. DOUGLAS and A. RYALL Seismic risk in linear source regions, with application to the San Andreas fault Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1977; 67(1): 233 - 241. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. A. FREIDLINE, R. B. SMITH, and D. D. BLACKWELL Seismicity and contemporary tectonics of the Helena, Montana area Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1976; 66(1): 81 - 95. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. M. DOUGLAS and A. RYALL Return periods for rock acceleration in western Nevada Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1975; 65(6): 1599 - 1611. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. C. F. STEWART Trend enhancement of seismic data as a guide to structural interpretation Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1974; 64(6): 1721 - 1731. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. F. HOWELL Jr. Seismic regionalization in North America based on Average Regional Seismic Hazard Index Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1974; 64(5): 1509 - 1528. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. A. NOWROOZI Seismicity of the mendocino escarpment and the aftershock sequence of June 26, 1968: Ocean bottom seismic measurements Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1973; 63(2): 441 - 456. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. A. BOLT and R. D. MILLER Seismicity of northern and central California, 1965-1969 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1971; 61(6): 1831 - 1847. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. J. GUMPER and C. SCHOLZ Microseismicity and tectonics of the Nevada Seismic Zone Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1971; 61(5): 1413 - 1432. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. W. SMITH and W. VAN DE LINDT Strain adjustments associated with earthquakes in southern California Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1969; 59(4): 1569 - 1589. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. RYALL, J. D. VANWORMER, and A. E. JONES Triggering of microearthquakes by earth tides, and other features of the Truckee, California, earthquake sequence of September, 1966 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1968; 58(1): 215 - 248. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. NIAZI and J. R. BASFORD Seismicity of Iranian Plateau and Hindu Kush region Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1968; 58(1): 417 - 426. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. L. COOK and R. B. SMITH Seismicity in Utah, 1850 through June 1965 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1967; 57(4): 689 - 718. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
