Holocene faulting on the Mission fault, northwest Montana

Conference · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5025422

Ostenaa, D A; Klinger, R E; Levish, D R ^[1]

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1. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO (United States)

South of Flathead Lake, fault scarps on late Quaternary surfaces are nearly continuous for 45 km along the western flank of the Mission Range. On late Pleistocene alpine lateral moraines, scarp heights reach a maximum of 17 m. Scarp heights on post glacial Lake Missoula surfaces range from 2.6--7.2 m and maximum scarp angles range from 10[degree]--24[degree]. The stratigraphy exposed in seven trenches across the fault demonstrates that the post glacial Lake Missoula scarps resulted from at least two surface-faulting events. Larger scarp heights on late Pleistocene moraines suggests a possible third event. This yields an estimated recurrence of 4--8 kyr. Analyses of scarp profiles show that the age of the most surface faulting is middle Holocene, consistent with stratigraphic evidence found in the trenches. Rupture length and displacement imply earthquake magnitudes of 7 to 7.5. Previous studies have not identified geologic evidence of late Quaternary surface faulting in the Rocky Mountain Trench or on faults north of the Lewis and Clark line despite abundant historic seismicity in the Flathead Lake area. In addition to the Mission fault, reconnaissance studies have located late Quaternary fault scarps along portions of faults bordering Jocko and Thompson Valleys. These are the first documented late Pleistocene/Holocene faults north of the Lewis and Clark line in Montana and should greatly revise estimates of earthquake hazards in this region.

• OSTI ID: 5025422
• Report Number(s): CONF-9305259--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 25:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
CENOZOIC ERA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EARTHQUAKES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
MONTANA
NORTH AMERICA
QUATERNARY PERIOD
SEISMIC EVENTS
SEISMICITY
USA