HR: 0800h
AN: T51D-1377    [Abstracts]
TI: Slip Rates, Recurrence Intervals and Earthquake Event Magnitudes for the southern Black Mountains Fault Zone, southern Death Valley, California
AU: * Fronterhouse Sohn, M
EM: msohn@fullerton.edu
AU: Knott, J R
EM: jknott@fullerton.edu
AU: Bowman, D D
EM: m_fronterhouse@yahoo.com
AB: The normal-oblique Black Mountain Fault zone (BMFZ) is part of the Death Valley fault system. Strong ground-motion generated by earthquakes on the BMFZ poses a serious threat to the Las Vegas, NV area (pop. ~1,428,690), the Death Valley National Park (max. pop. ~20,000) and Pahrump, NV (pop. 30,000). Fault scarps offset Holocene alluvial-fan deposits along most of the 80-km length of the BMFZ. However, slip rates, recurrence intervals, and event magnitudes for the BMFZ are poorly constrained due to a lack of age control. Also, Holocene scarp heights along the BMFZ range from <1 m to >6 m suggesting that geomorphic sections have different earthquake histories. Along the southernmost section, the BMFZ steps basinward preserving three post-late Pleistocene fault scarps. Surveys completed with a total station theodolite show scarp heights of 5.5, 5.0 and 2 meters offsetting the late Pleistocene, early to middle Holocene, to middle-late Holocene surfaces, respectively. Regression plots of vertical offset versus maximum scarp angle suggest event ages of <10 - 2 ka with a post-late Pleistocene slip rate of 0.1mm/yr to 0.3 mm/yr and recurrence of <3300 years/event. Regression equations for the estimated geomorphically constrained rupture length of the southernmost section and surveyed event displacements provides estimated moment magnitudes (Mw) between 6.6 and 7.3 for the BMFZ.
DE: 8100 TECTONOPHYSICS
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005