Seismicity, 1980-86

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper; (USA)

OSTI ID:5599608

Hill, D P; Eaton, J P; Jones, L M

Tens of thousands of small earthquakes occur in California each year, reflecting brittle deformation of the margins of the Pacific and North American plates as they grind inexorably past one another along the San Andreas fault system. The deformational patterns revealed by this ongoing earthquake activity provide a wealth of information on the tectonic processes along this major transform boundary that, every few hundred years, culminate in rupture of the San Andreas fault in a great (M {approx} 8) earthquake. This chapter describes the regional seismicity and the San Andreas transform boundary; seismicity along the San Andreas Fault system; and focal mechanisms and transform-boundary kinematics. Seismicity patterns and the earthquake cycle and distributed seismicity and deformation of the plate margins are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 5599608
• Journal Information: United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper; (USA), Vol. 1515
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
CALIFORNIA
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
SEISMICITY
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
CONTINENTAL CRUST
CREEP
DEFORMATION
DEPTH
DISTRIBUTION
EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE
EARTHQUAKES
FRAGMENTATION
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GROUND MOTION
PLATE TECTONICS
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
RUPTURES
SEISMIC SOURCES
SLIP
THICKNESS
TIME DEPENDENCE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIMENSIONS
EARTH CRUST
FAILURES
FEDERAL REGION IX
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MOTION
NORTH AMERICA
SEISMIC EVENTS
TECTONICS
USA
580000* - Geosciences