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Title: Characterization of Quaternary and suspected Quaternary faults, regional studies, Nevada and California

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/205049· OSTI ID:205049

This report presents the results of geologic studies that help define the Quaternary history of selected faults in the region around Yucca Mountain, Nevada. These results are relevant to the seismic-design basis of a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The relevancy is based, in part, on a need for additional geologic data that became apparent in ongoing studies that resulted in the identification of 51 relevant and potentially relevant individual and compound faults and fault zones in the 100-km-radius region around the Yucca Mountain site. Geologic data used to characterize the regional faults and fault zones as relevant or potentially relevant seismic sources includes age and displacement information, maximum fault lengths, and minimum distances between the fault and the Yucca Mountain site. For many of the regional faults, no paleoseismic field studies have previously been conducted, and age and displacement data are sparse to nonexistent. In November 1994, the Branch of Earthquake and Landslide Hazards entered into two Memoranda of Agreement with the Yucca Mountain Project Branch to conduct field reconnaissance, analysis, and interpretation of six relevant and six potentially relevant regional faults. This report describes the results of study of those faults exclusive of those in the Pahrump-Stewart Valley-Ash Meadows-Amargosa Valley areas. We also include results of a cursory study of faults on the west flank of the Specter Range and in the northern part of the Last Chance Range. A four-phase strategy was implemented for the field study.

Research Organization:
Colorado Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AI08-92NV10874
OSTI ID:
205049
Report Number(s):
USGS-OFR-95-599; ON: DE96005939
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English