Imperial fault and surrounding area. The red lines are simplified faults. Right-lateral direction of motion of the transform fault is shown (pink arrows). The red rhombs are pull-apart basins; the northern one is the site of the Niland geothermal field, the southern the Cerro Prieto geothermal field. The Imperial Fault lies in-between.
The Imperial Fault Zone is a right lateral-moving strike-slip fault, representing the northernmost transform fault associated with the East Pacific Rise. It is connected to the San Andreas Fault by the Brawley Seismic Zone. It terminates on its southern end at the Cerro Prieto spreading center.
The Imperial Fault Zone is thought to accommodate slip from both the San Andreas and the San Jacinto fault zones. However, studies covering the last few hundred years show that the slip rate is insufficient to account for the total slip from the San Andreas system.[1] The surface trace is well-located based on mapped surface offsets from historic events.
Earthquake historyedit
The Imperial Fault Zone has a history of earthquakes of moderate magnitude, including several doublet earthquakes.
1915 Imperial Valley earthquakes: Two magnitude 6.25 shocks occurred ~1 hour apart. Six people died and several were injured in the second quake at Mexicali, located just inside the Mexican border. Unstable banks of the New and Alamo Rivers caved in many places.
^Treiman, J.Jerome, compiler, 1999, Fault number 132, Imperial fault, in Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey website, http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/hazards/qfaults 2010-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
Further readingedit
Thomas, A. P.; Rockwell, T. K. (1996). "A 300- to 550-year history of slip on the Imperial fault near the U.S.-Mexico border: Missing slip at the Imperial fault bottleneck". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 101 (B3): 5987–5997. doi:10.1029/95jb01547. ISSN 0148-0227.
Rockwell, T. K.; Klinger, Y. (2023). "2000 yrs of earthquakes inferred from subsidence events on the Imperial fault, California: Effect of lake-level changes and implication for variable slip rates" (PDF). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 618. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118271. ISSN 0012-821X.
External linksedit
Southern California Earthquake Data Center website: Imperial Fault Zone.
April 11, 2024
imperial, fault, zone, system, geological, faults, located, imperial, county, southern, california, region, adjacent, baja, california, state, mexico, cuts, across, border, between, united, states, mexico, united, states, geological, survey, with, outlined, re. The Imperial Fault Zone is a system of geological faults located in Imperial County in the Southern California region and adjacent Baja California state in Mexico It cuts across the border between the United States and Mexico United States Geological Survey map with the Imperial Fault Zone outlined in redLos AngelesSan DiegoMexicaliSalton SeaTijuanaAlamo River mouthColorado River mouthLaguna SaladaYumaGulf of CaliforniaColorado River ValleyCerro Prieto volcanoclass notpageimage Imperial fault and surrounding area The red lines are simplified faults Right lateral direction of motion of the transform fault is shown pink arrows The red rhombs are pull apart basins the northern one is the site of the Niland geothermal field the southern the Cerro Prieto geothermal field The Imperial Fault lies in between Contents 1 Geology 2 Earthquake history 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksGeology editThe Imperial Fault Zone is a right lateral moving strike slip fault representing the northernmost transform fault associated with the East Pacific Rise It is connected to the San Andreas Fault by the Brawley Seismic Zone It terminates on its southern end at the Cerro Prieto spreading center The Imperial Fault Zone is thought to accommodate slip from both the San Andreas and the San Jacinto fault zones However studies covering the last few hundred years show that the slip rate is insufficient to account for the total slip from the San Andreas system 1 The surface trace is well located based on mapped surface offsets from historic events Earthquake history editThe Imperial Fault Zone has a history of earthquakes of moderate magnitude including several doublet earthquakes 1915 Imperial Valley earthquakes Two magnitude 6 25 shocks occurred 1 hour apart Six people died and several were injured in the second quake at Mexicali located just inside the Mexican border Unstable banks of the New and Alamo Rivers caved in many places 1940 El Centro earthquake 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake 2010 Baja California earthquakeSee also editCerro Prieto Fault Gulf of California Rift Zone Salton TroughReferences edit Treiman J Jerome compiler 1999 Fault number 132 Imperial fault in Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States U S Geological Survey website http earthquakes usgs gov hazards qfaults Archived 2010 09 13 at the Wayback MachineFurther reading editThomas A P Rockwell T K 1996 A 300 to 550 year history of slip on the Imperial fault near the U S Mexico border Missing slip at the Imperial fault bottleneck Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth 101 B3 5987 5997 doi 10 1029 95jb01547 ISSN 0148 0227 Rockwell T K Klinger Y 2023 2000 yrs of earthquakes inferred from subsidence events on the Imperial fault California Effect of lake level changes and implication for variable slip rates PDF Earth and Planetary Science Letters 618 doi 10 1016 j epsl 2023 118271 ISSN 0012 821X External links editSouthern California Earthquake Data Center website Imperial Fault Zone Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imperial Fault Zone amp oldid 1195410853, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
