Neotectonics of North America

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To Accompany the Neotectonic Maps, Part of the Continent-Scale Maps of North America

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Edited by D. Burton Slemmons P.O. Box 81050 Las Vegas, Nevada 89180-0695 E. R. Engdahl National Earthquake Information Center U.S. Geological Survey MS 967, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225 Mark D. Zoback Department of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford, California 94305 David D. Blackwell Department of Geological Sciences Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas 75275

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733156/9780813754239_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Acknowledgment Publication of this volume, one of the synthesis volumes of The Decade of North American Geology Project series, has been made possible by members and friends of the Geological Society of America, corporations, and government agencies through contributions to the Decade of North American Geology fund of the Geological Society of America Foundation. Following is a list of individuals, corporations, and government agencies giving and/or pledging more than $50,000 in support of the DNAG Project: Amoco Production Company Pennzoil Exploration and ARCO Exploration Company Production Company Chevron Corporation Phillips Petroleum Company Cities Service Oil and Gas Company Shell Oil Company Diamond Shamrock Exploration Caswell Silver Corporation Standard Oil Production Company Exxon Production Research Company Oryx Energy Company (formerly Getty Oil Company Sun Exploration and Production Gulf Oil Exploration and Production Company) Company Superior Oil Company Paul V. Hoovler Tenneco Oil Company Kennecott Minerals Company Texaco, Inc. Kerr McGee Corporation Union Oil Company of California Marathon Oil Company Union Pacific Corporation and Maxus Energy Corporation its operating companies: McMoRan Oil and Gas Company Union Pacific Resources Company Mobil Oil Corporation Union Pacific Railroad Company Occidental Petroleum Corporation Upland Industries Corporation U.S. Department of Energy

© 1991 by The Geological Society of America, Inc. This book does not list Cataloging-in-Publication data because it is an ac- All rights reserved. companying volume to the Neotectonic Maps, part of the Continent-Scale Maps of North America, and the Library of Congress does not issue CIP data for map All materials subject to this copyright and included sets. Therefore, libraries should shelve this volume under "neotectonics" and cross in this volume may be photocopied for the noncommercial reference it under "seismology, heat flow, or crustal stress of North America." purpose of scientific or educational advancement.

Copyright is not claimed on any material prepared by government employees within the scope of their employment. Published by The Geological Society of America, Inc. 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, Colorado 80301 Printed in U.S.A.

Cover Photo: Pleasant Valley, central Nevada, showing 4- to 6-m high Pearce fault scarp from the M = 7.5 to 7.8 earthquake of 1915.

10 987654321 ii

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733156/9780813754239_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Contents

Preface vii Foreword ix 1. Introduction 1

D. B. Slemmons

SEISMICITY 2. Seismicity Map of North America Project 21 E. R. Engdahl and W. A. Rinehart 3. Seismicity of the Aleutian Arc 29 J. J. Taber, S. Billington, and E. R. Engdahl 4. Seismicity of continental Alaska 47 R. A. Page, N. N. Biswas, J. C. Lahr, and H. Pulpan 5. An overview of western Canadian seismicity 69 G. C. Rogers and R. B. Horner 6. Seismicity of Washington and Oregon 77 R. S. Ludwin, C. S. Weaver, and R. S. Crosson 7. Northern California seismicity 99 R. A. Uhrhammer 8. The seismotectonic fabric of central Califbrnia 107 D. P. Hill, J. P. Eaton, W. L. Ellsworth, R. S. Cockerham, F. W. Lester, and E. J. Corbett 9. Seismotectonics of southern California 133 L. K. Hutton, L. M. Jones, E. Hauksson, and D. D. Given iii

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733156/9780813754239_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 iv Contents 10. The seismicity of Nevada and some adjacent parts of the Great Basin 153 A. M. Rogers, S. C. Harmsen, E. J. Corbett, K. Priestley, and D. dePolo 11. Seismicity of the Intermountain Seismic Belt 185 R. B. Smith and W. J. Arabasz 12. Seismicity of the Rio Grande rift in New Mexico 229 A. R. Sanford, L. H. Jaksha, D. J. Cash 13. Seismotectonics of the central United States 245 B. J. Mitchell, O. W. Nuttli, R. B. Herrmann, and W. Stauder 14. The seismicity and seismotectonics of eastern Canada 261 J. Adams and P. Basham 15. Earthquake activity in the northeastern United States 277 J. E. Ebel and A. L. Kafka 16. Seismicity of the southeastern United States; 1698 to 1986 291 G. A. Bollinger, A. C. Johnston, P. Talwani, L. T. Long, K. M. Shedlock, M. S. Sibol, M. C. Chapman 17. Seismotectonics of Middle America 309 J. W. Dewey and G. Suarez 18. Tectonic implications of upper-crustal seismicity in Central America 323 R. A. White STRESS 19. Tectonic stress field of North America and relative plate motions 339 M. D. Zoback and M. L. Zoback 20. Crustal stresses in Canada 367 J. Adams and S. Bell 21. Stress indicators in Alaska 387 C. H. Estabrook and K. H. Jacob 22. State of stress and active deformation in Mexico and western Central America 401 M. Suter THERMAL ASPECTS 23. Heat-flow patterns of the North American continent; A discussion of the Geothermal Map of North America 423 D. D. Blackwell, J. L. Steele, and L. S. Carter 24. Terrestrial heat flow in Canada 437 A. M. Jessop 25. Heat flux in the Canadian Cordillera 445 T. Lewis

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733156/9780813754239_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Contents v 26. An overview of heat flow in southwestern United States and northern Chihuahua, Mexico 457 M. Reiter, M. W. Barroll, and J. Minier 27. Subsurface temperatures in the northern Great Plains 467 W. D. Gosnold, Jr. NEOTECTONICS 28. Late Quaternary glacial isostatic recovery of North America, Greenland, and Iceland; A neotectomcs perspective 473 J. T. Andrews Index 487

The Geology of North America series has been prepared to mark the Centennial of The Geological Society of America. It represents the cooperative efforts of more than 1,000 individuals from academia, state and federal agencies of many countries, and industry to prepare syntheses that are as current and authoritative as possible about the geology of the North American continent and adjacent oceanic regions. This series is part of the Decade of North American Geology (DNAG) Project, which also includes seven wall maps at a scale of 1:5,000,000 that summarize the geology, tectonics, magnetic and gravity anomaly patterns, regional stressfields, therma l aspects, and seismicity of North America and its surroundings. Together, the synthesis volumes and maps are the first coordinated effort to integrate all available knowledge about the geology and geophysics of a crustal plate on a regional scale. The products of the DNAG Project present the state of knowledge of the geology and geophysics of North America through the 1980s, and they point the way toward work to be done in the decades ahead. A. R. Palmer General Editor for the volumes published by The Geological Society of America J. O. Wheeler General Editor for the volumes published by the Geological Survey of Canada

vii

This volume provides a nucleus of ideas, syntheses, and discussions to accompany the continent-scale maps of the Decade of North American Geology (DNAG) Project that relate to neotectonics. Initial plans in April 1986 included preparation of texts related to four maps that embraced the topics of seismicity, stress, thermal aspects, and neotectonics of North America. Three of the four maps have been completed. Texts related to these maps, plus two chapters dealing with regional neotectonics are included in this volume. The three completed maps each consist of four sheets covering North America at a scale of 1:5,000,000. Seismicity Map of North America, 1988, compiled by E. R. Engdahl, and prepared for publication by W. A. Rinehart, Geological Society of America CSM-004. Construction of the seismicity map was a team effort that began in 1984 at the Seismological Society of America meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, and culminated in publication of the final map with data contributed by more than 100 researchers. The 17 chapters that discuss the seismicity of North America by region were edited by E. R. Engdahl. Compilation of the map data base involved integration of earlier felt reports, dating back to 1534, with modern improved earthquake epicenters derived from data recorded by an increasing number of sophisticated seismographic programs. Thus the colorfully displayed map and the text provide the most thoroughly researched source material available for studying the historical seismicity of North America during the period 1534 to 1985. Stress Map of North America, 1991, compiled by M. D. Zoback and M. L. Zoback, Geological Society of America CSM-005. The stress map and text were edited by M. D. Zoback and include the most comprehensive and complete data base that has been prepared for the current state of crustal stress in North America. The data demonstrate well-defined and regional stress orientations and relative stress magnitudes. They also reflect a compressional midplate region and extensional regions in the western Cordillera, southern Great Plains, and Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. The data are based on four general categories of tectonic stress indicators, including earthquake focal mechanisms, stress-induced wellbore breakouts, in-situ measurements at depth, and young geologic data such as volcanic alignments and fault-slip events. Thermal Aspects Map of North America, 1991, compiled by D. D. Blackwell, J. L. Steele, and L. S. Carter, Geological Society of America, CSM-006. The geothermal map and accompanying text include a summary of the heat flow sites and values for North America and surrounding oceanic and island areas where data are available. The heat flow values are contoured in areas where data are sufficient. In addition to the locations of major hot spring systems, explored geothermal systems and Quaternary volcanoes are shown. The data base for the map was compiled with the cooperation of 11 heat flow investigators. ix

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/3733156/9780813754239_frontmatter.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 X Foreword A Neotectonic Map of North America and accompanying texts were the last part of the neotectonics project to be started. Due to the extensive work needed to complete the map for many key regions and organizational problems, only a neotectonic overview, in the Introduc- tion to this volume, and a review of late Quaternary isostatic recovery of North America, Greenland, and Iceland, with a neotectonic perspective, are included here. The map is indefinitely delayed. In addition to the above maps and supporting chapters in this volume, several other geological and geophysical maps produced by the Geological Society of America provide a complement to the understanding of the North American neotectonic setting. They include The Geologic Map of North America, still in compilation by J. C. Reed, Jr., J. O. Wheeler, B. E. Tucholke, and A. R. Palmer; the Gravity Anomaly Map of North America, 1987, compiled by the Gravity Anomaly Map Committee; and the Magnetic Anomaly Map of North America, 1987, compiled by the Committee for the Magnetic Anomaly Map. The digital data bases for the neotectonic maps and the gravity and magnetic anomaly maps are available on a CD-ROM, Geophysics of North America, produced by the National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado. This volume and the three related maps are the Centennial contribution by the Geophys- ics and the Structural Geology and Tectonics Divisions of the Geological Society of America to the DNAG Program. The progress and completion of this volume and associated maps were strongly influ- enced by the unfailing help of A. R. (Pete) Palmer, the Centennial Science Program Coordi- nator of the Society. Words are inadequate to express the gratitude of the editors and contributors for his continued and careful support and vigorous encouragement at all stages of development of this project. D. B. Slemmons Volume editor August 1991

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