Mount Diablo Thrust Fault

Mount Diablo Thrust Fault

The Mount Diablo Thrust Fault, also known as the Mount Diablo Blind Thrust, is a thrust fault in the vicinity of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, California. The fault lies between the Calaveras Fault, the Greenville Fault, and the Concord Fault, all right-lateral strike-slip faults, and appear to transfer movement from the Calaveras and Greenville Faults to the Concord Fault, while continuing to uplift Mount Diablo.

Contents

Tectonic forces

The Pacific Plate is a major section of the Earth's crust, gradually expanding by the eruption of magma along the East Pacific Rise to the southeast. It is also being subducted far to the northwest into the Aleutian Trench under the North American Plate well north of San Francisco. In California, the plate borders the North American Plate along a transform boundary, the San Andreas Fault. The westward component of the North American Plate's motion and the irregularity of the San Andreas Fault results in some compressive force along the San Andreas and its associated faults, thus helping lift the Coast Ranges. The Mount Diablo Thrust Fault and the Great Valley Blind Thrust faults are consequences of this compression.

Nearby cities

The Mount Diablo Thrust Fault underlays several cities and unincorporated communities in Contra Costa County: Alamo, Antioch, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek.[1]

Seismic parameters

The Mount Diablo Thrust Fault is approximately 25 km long, and dips at an angle of 38 degrees to the northeast. The Mount Diablo Thrust Fault is capable of generating an earthquake of magnitude MW=6.7. The predicted rupture surface begins 8 km below the surface, and there is thus no surface expression of the fault, and a low likelihood of surface rupture in the event of a large earthquake on the fault. No large historic earthquakes are known to have occurred on the Mount Diablo Thrust Fault. The recurrence interval for large earthquakes along the fault is predicted to be about 400 years.[2]

References



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mount Diablo — West face of Mount Diablo and Hwy 24 Elevation …   Wikipedia

  • Maria fold and thrust belt — Ranges, Plains Thrusted Forms Country United States States …   Wikipedia

  • Newport-Inglewood Fault — The Newport Inglewood Fault is a right lateral fault in Southern California. The fault extends for 75 kilometers (47 mi) from Culver City southeast to Newport Beach at which point it runs out into the Pacific Ocean. The fault can be seen on… …   Wikipedia

  • Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault — This fault is shown in white and is the rightmost fault The Clayton Marsh Creek Greenville Fault is a fault located in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area of California, in Alameda County and Contra Costa County. It is part of the somewhat… …   Wikipedia

  • Death Valley Fault Zone — The Death Valley Fault Zone (DVFZ) is a right lateral moving (dextral) geologic fault in eastern California. It runs from a connection with the Furnace Creek Fault Zone in the Amargosa Valley southward to a junction with the Garlock Fault. It is… …   Wikipedia

  • Chino Fault — The Chino Fault is a fault that extends along the eastern Chino Hills range region, from Corona in Riverside County to the Los Serranos, Chino Hills area of San Bernardino County in Southern California. Geology The Chino Fault and Whittier Fault… …   Wikipedia

  • Calaveras Fault — Note that Diablo Fault and Mount Diablo Fault redirect here. The Calaveras Fault is a major branch of the San Andreas Fault located in northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area. It runs east of the San Andreas, diverging from it in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Mendocino Fracture Zone — The Mendocino Fracture Zone between the Gorda Plate and Pacific Plate The Mendocino Fracture Zone is a fracture zone and transform boundary off the coast of Cape Mendocino in far northern California. It runs westward from a triple junction with… …   Wikipedia

  • Mendocino Triple Junction — The Mendocino Triple Junction is a geologic triple junction where the San Andreas Fault meets the Mendocino Fault and the Cascadia subduction zone, separating three tectonic plates: the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate and the Gorda Plate …   Wikipedia

  • Contra Costa County, California — County of Contra Costa   County   The west face of Mount Diablo, the most notable …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”