USGS EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS PROGRAM
The Earth in Motion: Seismic Atlas
Not just "an earthquake just happened," but *how often does this landscape move?* Constructing seismic biographies for the San Andreas, Cascadia Megathrust, Wasatch Front, and New Madrid seismic zones.
USGS EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS PROGRAM & ANSS COMCAT
The Earth in Motion: Seismic Biographies
How often does this landscape move? Explore tectonic slip rates, historic rupture sequences, and fault network architecture across North America.
Southern California (Salton Sea to Cajon Pass)Hyperactive
San Andreas Fault System (Southern Segment)
MAX HISTORIC MAGNITUDE:
M7.9
TECTONIC SLIP RATE:
35 mm/yr
PLATE TECTONIC MECHANISM:
Right-lateral strike-slip continental transform plate boundary
SEISMIC BIOGRAPHY NARRATIVE
Locks the Pacific Plate moving northwest relative to the North American Plate. The southern Coachella Valley segment has not ruptured since ~1680 (over 340-year stress accumulation).
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSURE
Crossed by I-10, Colorado River Aqueduct, High-Voltage Trans-Desert Power Grid, and fiber optic backbones.