Quaternary Tectonics of Utah with Emphasis on Earthquake-hazard Characterization

Quaternary Tectonics of Utah with Emphasis on Earthquake-hazard Characterization
Author: Suzanne Hecker
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 117
Release: 1993-01-13
Genre: Earthquake hazard analysis
ISBN: 1557910944

This report consolidates and synthesizes information on Quaternary faulting, folding, and volcanism in Utah and characterizes recent tectonic activity throughout the state. The primary purpose is to provide a comprehensive reference on fault-specific seismic sources and surface rupture to facilitate the evaluation of earthquake hazards in Utah. Two 1:500,000-scale maps show Quaternary tectonic features categorized according to probable ages of most recent surface deformation and ages of volcanic rocks. Two appendix tables summarize significant data on the activity of mapped features, including ages of surface displacements and volcanism, slip rates, recurrence intervals, displacement amounts, and lengths of surface ruptures. Good age control and quantitative activity data are available for relatively few tectonic features in Utah and detailed work is needed in many areas of the state. 157 pages + 2 plates

Paleoseismology

Paleoseismology
Author: James P. McCalpin
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 916
Release: 2009-07-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080919987

Paleoseismology has become an important component of seismic risk analysis, which is mandated for nuclear power plants, dams, waste repositories, and other critical structures. This book is the first in the English language to be devoted solely to paleoseismology. It summarizes the development of the field from the 1960s to the present, encompassing material that is currently widely dispersed in journal articles. - Includes a comprehensive review of the techniques currently used in paleoseismology - Emphasizes practical methods of data collection and field studies - Covers interpretation of field data based on current theory concerning fault segmentation and recurrence cycles - Contains more than 170 line drawings and 50 photographs of paleoseismic phenomena

Consensus Preferred Recurrence-interval and Vertical Slip-rate Estimates

Consensus Preferred Recurrence-interval and Vertical Slip-rate Estimates
Author: William R. Lund
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2005-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1557917272

This report presents the results of the Utah Quaternary Fault Parameters Working Group (hereafter referred to as the Working Group) review and evaluation of Utah’s Quaternary fault paleoseismic-trenching data. The purpose of the review was to (1) critically evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the paleoseismictrenching data, particularly regarding earthquake timing and displacement, (2) where the data permit, assign consensus, preferred recurrence-interval (RI) and vertical slip-rate (VSR) estimates with appropriate confidence limits to the faults/fault sections under review, and (3) identify critical gaps in the paleoseismic data and recommend where and what kinds of additional paleoseismic studies should be performed to ensure that Utah’s earthquake hazard is adequately documented and understood. It is important to note that, with the exception of the Great Salt Lake fault zone, the Working Group’s review was limited to faults/fault sections having paleoseismic-trenching data. Most Quaternary faults/fault sections in Utah have not been trenched, but many have RI and VSR estimates based on tectonic geomorphology or other non-trench-derived studies. Black and others compiled the RI and VSR data for Utah’s Quaternary faults, both those with and without trenches.

Paleoseismic Investigation at Rock Canyon, Provo Segment, Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah County, Utah

Paleoseismic Investigation at Rock Canyon, Provo Segment, Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah County, Utah
Author: William R. Lund
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 28
Release: 1998
Genre: Earthquake hazard analysis
ISBN: 1557916136

Field work for this paleoseismic investigation at Rock Canyon was performed in 1988. It was one of three studies conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s to determine if the Provo segment of the Wasatch fault zone should be subdivided into three smaller segments as tentatively proposed by Machette and others on the basis of their geologic mapping. This investigation was the last of the three studies performed. Those results, combined with the results of paleoseismic investigations at American Fork Canyon and Mapleton, showed that the Wasatch fault where it passes through Utah Valley probably consists of a single, almost 70-kilometer-Iong fault segment (Machette and others, 1992). Publication of the details of the Rock Canyon study has been delayed for several years, chiefly due to the press of new job duties on the part of the investigators. The information remains important and is presented here for the use of those individuals interested in earthquake hazards and seismic-source characteristics of the Wasatch fault in Utah Valley. 21 pages + 2 plates

History of Late Holocene Earthquakes at the Willow Creek Site and on the Nephi Segment, Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah

History of Late Holocene Earthquakes at the Willow Creek Site and on the Nephi Segment, Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah
Author: Anthony J. Crone
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2014-09-15
Genre: CD-ROMs
ISBN: 1557918945

This 43-page report presents new data from the Willow Creek site that provides well-defined and narrow bounds on the times of the three youngest earthquakes on the southern strand of the Nephi segment, Wasatch Fault zone, and refines the time of the youngest earthquake to about 200 years ago. This is the youngest surface rupture on the entire Wasatch fault zone, which occurred about a century or less before European settles arrived in Utah. Two trenches at the Willow Creek site exposed three scarp-derived colluvial wedges that are evidence of three paleoearthquakes. OxCal modeling of ages from Willow Creek indicate that paleoearthquake WC1 occurred at 0.2 ± 0.1 ka, WC2 occurred at 1.2 ± 0.1 ka, and WC3 occurred at 1.9 ± 0.6 ka. Stratigraphic constraints on the time of paleoearthquake WC4 are extremely poor, so OxCal modeling only yields a broadly constrained age of 4.7 ± 1.8 ka. Results from the Willow Creek site significantly refine the times of late Holocene earthquakes on the Southern strand of the Nephi segment, and this result, when combined with a reanalysis of the stratigraphic and chronologic information from previous investigations at North Creek and Red Canyon, yield a stronger basis of correlating individual earthquakes between all three sites.

Paleoseismic Investigation of the Clarkston, Junction Hills, and Wellsville Faults, West Cache Fault Zone, Cache County, Utah

Paleoseismic Investigation of the Clarkston, Junction Hills, and Wellsville Faults, West Cache Fault Zone, Cache County, Utah
Author: Bill D. Black
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2000
Genre: Fault zones
ISBN: 1557916462

Field work for this paleoseismic investigation was performed in 1997 at three sites (Winter Canyon, Roundy Farm, and Deep Canyon) on the Clarkston, Junction Hills, and Wellsville faults. These faults, along with several lesser associated faults nearby, comprise the West Cache fault zone on the west side of Cache Valley. No previous paleoseismic studies had been conducted on these faults. The information reported here on the size, timing, and recurrence of surface-faulting earthquakes on the West Cache fault zone is critical to public officials, planners, and others making decisions regarding earthquake-hazard mitigation in Cache Valley and the northern Wasatch front. 23 pages + 1 plate

Paleoseismic Investigation on the Salt Lake City Segment of the Wasatch Fault Zone at the South Fork Dry Creek and Dry Gulch Sites, Salt Lake County, Utah

Paleoseismic Investigation on the Salt Lake City Segment of the Wasatch Fault Zone at the South Fork Dry Creek and Dry Gulch Sites, Salt Lake County, Utah
Author: Bill D. Black
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 28
Release: 1996
Genre: Faults (Geology)
ISBN: 1557913994

The South Fork Dry Creek and Dry Gulch sites lie within a few hundred meters of each other in the southeastern part of the Salt Lake Valley, and together provide the only location on the heavily urbanized Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault zone where it is possible to develop a complete surface-faulting chronology for the segment since middle Holocene time (the past 6,000 years). Investigations at the two sites took place intermittently between 1985 and 1995 as permission was obtained to trench more and more of the scarps within the broad fault zone. The new information reported here on the size, timing, and especially recurrence of surface-faulting earthquakes on the Salt Lake City segment shows that the earthquake hazard presented by this segment of the Wasatch fault is greater than previously thought. Such information is vital to public officials, planners, and others making decisions regarding earthquake-hazard mitigation. 22 pages + 1 plate