FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT U.S. Geological Survey External Grant
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FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT U.S. Geological Survey External Grant Award Numbers G19AP00072 and G19AP00073 Grant Period: July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020 DETAILED MAPPING OF THE EAST AND WEST BEAR LAKE FAULT ZONES, UTAH AND IDAHO, AND THE OQUIRRH, SOUTHERN OQUIRRH MOUNTAINS, TOPLIFF HILLS, AND RUSH VALLEY FAULT ZONES, UTAH—USING NEW HIGH- RESOLUTION LIDAR DATA TO REDUCE EARTHQUAKE RISK Submitted by Adam I. Hiscock1, Zachery M. Lifton2, Greg N. McDonald1, and Emily J. Kleber1 March 31, 2021 1Utah Geological Survey, 1594 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-6100, http://geology.utah.gov/ AIH: [email protected], 801-537-3388 GNM: [email protected], 801-537-3383 EJK: [email protected], 801-538-4770 2Idaho Geological Survey, Idaho Water Center, Suite 201, 322 E. Front Street, Boise, Idaho 83702, http://www.idahogeology.org ZML: [email protected], 208-364-4099 Although this product represents the work of professional scientists, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Geological Survey, makes no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding its suitability for a particular use. The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Geological Survey, shall not be liable under any circumstances for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to claims by users of this product. This project was funded by the Utah Geological Survey, Idaho Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, through USGS External Grants award numbers G19AP00072 and G19AP00073. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government. CONTENTS ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 3 GEOLOGIC SETTING 6 East Bear Lake Fault and West Bear Lake Fault 6 Oquirrh Fault Zone 8 Southern Oquirrh Mountains Fault Zone 10 Topliff Hills Fault Zone 12 Central and Western Rush Valley Faults 12 DATA SOURCES 13 Lidar Elevation Data 13 Aerial Photography 14 Previous Geologic Mapping 14 East Bear Lake and West Bear Lake Faults 14 Blackfoot Volcanic Field Faults 15 Oquirrh Fault Zone, Southern Oquirrh Mountains Fault Zone, Topliff Hills Fault Zone, and Rush Valley Faults 15 FAULT MAPPING 15 Fault Interpretations 15 East Bear Lake and West Bear Lake Faults 15 Blackfoot Volcanic Field Faults 15 Oquirrh Fault Zone 16 Southern Oquirrh Mountains Fault Zone 17 Central and West Rush Valley Faults 18 Topliff Hills Fault Zone 19 Fault Traces 19 Special-Study Zone Delineation 20 POTENTIAL PALEOSEISMIC INVESTIGATION SITES 22 East Bear Lake Fault 22 Oquirrh Fault Zone 23 Southern Oquirrh Mountains Fault Zone 23 Central and Western Rush Valley Faults 24 Topliff Hills Fault Zone 24 CONCLUSIONS 24 REFERENCES 26 1 FIGURES Figure 1 – Areas mapped in this study in northern Utah and southern Idaho Figure 2 – Map showing the Soda Springs, Idaho, earthquake sequence from September 2, 2017, to March 15, 2021 Figure 3 – The East and West Bear Lake faults in Utah and Idaho, and the Blackfoot Volcanic Field faults and Gem Valley faults in Idaho. Figure 4 – The Oquirrh fault zone, Southern Oquirrh Mountains fault zone, Topliff Hills fault zone, and Rush Valley faults in Utah Figure 5 – Comparison between aerial photography and lidar hillshade images Figure 6 – Examples of special circumstances used when creating surface-fault-rupture special- study zones TABLES Table 1 – Potential paleoseismic sites along the East and West Bear Lake fault zones, the Oquirrh fault zone, Southern Oquirrh Mountains fault zone, Topliff Hills fault zone, South Mountain marginal fault, Clover fault zone, Sheeprock fault zone, and Gem Valley fault. Fault mapping available through the UGS Utah Geologic Hazards Portal – https://geology.utah.gov/apps/hazards/ 2 ABSTRACT The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and the Idaho Geological Survey (IGS) mapped Quaternary-active faults in southeastern Idaho and northern Utah using recently collected airborne high-resolution topographic data in addition to available aerial photography and field reconnaissance. Specifically, the UGS and IGS mapped the East Bear Lake fault zone and West Bear Lake fault zone in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho, and the UGS mapped the Oquirrh fault zone, the Southern Oquirrh Mountains fault zone, the Topliff Hills fault zone, and the central and western Rush Valley faults in north-central Utah. High-resolution topographic data derived from airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation data has allowed for detailed mapping of fault traces along these fault zones. Previously, the surface location and extent of fault traces associated with these fault zones were not well understood in many areas, owing to limited aerial photography coverage, heavy vegetation near range fronts, and the difficulty in recognizing moderate (<3 feet [<1 m]) displacements in the field or on aerial photographs. Previous geologic mapping, paleoseismic investigations, historical aerial photography, and field investigations were also used to identify and map surface fault traces and infer fault locations. In Utah, special-study areas were delineated around mapped faults to facilitate understanding of the surface-rupture hazard and associated risk. Defining these special- study zones encourages the creation and implementation of municipal and county geologic- hazard ordinances dealing with hazardous faults in Utah. We identified 51 potential paleoseismic investigation sites where fault scarps appear relatively pristine, are located in geologically favorable settings, and where additional earthquake timing data would be beneficial to earthquake research of the faults mapped in this study. More accurate mapping and characterization of these faults helps to mitigate earthquake risk in southeastern Idaho and northern Utah by developing surface-fault-rupture hazard maps and refining fault segmentation models and fault activity levels for use in regional earthquake-hazard assessments. INTRODUCTION The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and Idaho Geological Survey (IGS) performed detailed fault-trace mapping for fault zones in northeastern Utah, southeastern Idaho, and north- central Utah (figure 1). Our investigation included: 1) mapping surface traces of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho faults at 1:10,000-scale using currently available high-resolution lidar data, aerial photography, and field reconnaissance, 2) identifying potential paleoseismic trenching sites for future investigation, 3) defining special study zones for fault traces in Utah for land-use planning, management, and local government ordinances and publishing in a feature- class layer in the UGS Utah Geologic Hazards Portal, 4) publishing new fault trace geometries and attributes to the UGS Utah Geologic Hazards Portal and the IGS Miocene and Younger Faults in Idaho database, and 5) presenting investigation results to professional groups, local governments, and the public in Utah and Idaho. 3 Northern Utah and southeastern Idaho are experiencing rapid growth in urban and rural areas. The extent of scarps along traces of the East Bear Lake fault (EBLF), West Bear Lake fault (WBLF), the Oquirrh fault zone (OFZ), the Southern Oquirrh Mountains fault zone (SOMFZ), the Topliff Hills fault zone (THFZ), and the central and western Rush Valley faults are not well understood in many areas owing to limited aerial photography for the area, difficulty in recognizing small to moderate (<3 feet [<1 m high]) scarps in the field or on stereo- paired aerial photographs, and dense vegetation near range fronts in some areas. Accurately mapping and characterizing these active fault traces are essential to mitigating earthquake risk in Bear Lake Valley (Idaho/Utah), Tooele Valley (Utah), and Rush Valley (Utah), to update the USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps, and to refine fault segmentation models and fault activity levels for use in regional earthquake-hazard assessments. In September 2017, a magnitude (M) 5.3 earthquake initiated the robust Soda Springs earthquake sequence, which included more than 2000 Figure 1. Location of the areas referenced in this study in measured events (figure 2). The figures 2, 3, and 4. Faults mapped in this study shown as earthquake epicenters are in a heavy red lines, other faults shown in light grey (from Utah tight cluster east of the town of Geologic Hazards Portal, 2021, and Idaho Miocene– Soda Springs, Idaho, directly Quaternary Fault Map, 2021). Basemap from ESRI. under the mapped trace of the EBLF (figure 3). Most of the earthquakes have focal mechanisms suggesting movement on a normal fault, although some earthquakes have strike-slip focal mechanisms. More than 90% of the earthquakes occurred at depths less than 6 miles (10 km). The exact source fault is not clearly 4 known, but it is likely that the earthquakes occurred on a steeply dipping EBLF or a shallowly dipping WBLF. While southeastern Idaho is known to be seismically active, this earthquake sequence significantly increased awareness of seismic hazards in the region. Figure 2. The Soda Springs, Idaho, earthquake sequence. Earthquake locations and magnitude show as circles from September 2, 2017, to March 15, 2021 (magnitude scale in top right corner). Earthquake data from U.S. Geological Survey earthquake catalog. Faults mapped in this study shown as heavy black lines. Despite southeastern Idaho’s sparse population, seismic hazards potentially threaten critical industries and infrastructure. The phosphate mining