Holocene faulting on the Mission fault, northwest Montana
- 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-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:5; Conference: 89. annual meeting of the Cordilleran Section and the 46th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Reno, NV (United States), 19-21 May 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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