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4.6 Geologic and Seismic Hazards

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4.6 Geologic and Seismic Hazards METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD GENERAL PLAN UPDATE EIR 4.6 GEOLOGIC AND SEISMIC HAZARDS The purpose of this Section is to describe the geologic and seismic setting of the Bakersfield Metropolitan area, identify potential impacts associated with implementation of the General Plan Update, reference General Plan goals, policies, and standards, and, where necessary, recommends mitigation measures to reduce the significance of impacts. The issues addressed in this section include risks associated with: faults, strong seismic ground shaking, seismic related ground failure such as liquefaction, landslides, and unstable geologic units and/or soils. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING GEOLOGY Geologic Structure The Metropolitan Bakersfield area is a part of the Great Valley Geomorphic Province of California which is an alluvial plain, about 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, between the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada. The Great Valley is drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which join and enter San Francisco Bay. The southern part of the Great Valley is the San Joaquin Valley. The Valley is a northwesterly trending trough (geocycline) filled with immense thickness of sediments (estimated at 40,000 feet at the axis) deposited from surrounding mountains. Streams flowing westerly from the Sierra Nevada have eroded and deposited materials into the trough, forming alluvial fans at the surface. The largest of these in the Plan area is the Kern River fan, covering about 300 square miles of the valley and made up of sand, silt and clay deposits. The Kern River flood plain is incised into the upper part of the fan, north of downtown Bakersfield, and spread out across the broad, flat lower fan to the southwest. Soils Refer to Section 4.7, Soils and Agricultural Resources, for a discussion of soil characteristics in the Plan area. Seismicity A fault is a fracture in the crust of the earth along which land on one side have moved relative to those on the other side. Most faults are the result of repeated displacements over a long period of time. A fault trace is the line on the earth's surface defining the fault. There are numerous geologic fractures in the earth's crust within the San Joaquin Valley, with the San Andreas Fault being the most prominent. These fault systems are illustrated in Figure VIII-1 of the 1990 General Plan, Major Active Faults. Other fault systems occur in the Bakersfield region, as in most of California, due to the continual and historical convergence of the continental plates. The following discussion summarizes the characteristics of the four major fault systems: DRAFT JUNE 2002 4.6-1 Geologic and Seismic Hazards METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD GENERAL PLAN UPDATE EIR San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is located approximately 38 miles southwest of downtown Bakersfield, outside of the Plan area. The Fault is approximately 650 miles long, reaching from the Mendocino Escarpment on the north, to the Imperial Valley on the south. Along this extent, the San Andreas is considered to be the boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. The segment of the San Andreas through Kern County is relatively short compared to its 650-mile length. However, it is important since this segment of the system breaks from its predominant 350 degrees trending direction between the San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles County lines. The last great earthquake on this segment was the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake that is believed to have caused a rupture extending 200 miles or more. Geologists consider this fault as having the potential to generate an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 on the Richter scale, which is designated as the maximum credible earthquake. This is an active fault capable of causing damage to the Planning area. Areas along this fault have been designated by the state as an Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone (refer to discussion below). Breckenridge-Kern Canyon Fault. The Breckenridge-Kern Canyon fault is located in the southern Sierra Nevada, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Bakersfield, outside of the Planning area. It trends northerly from the north end of Walker Basin to north of Mount Whitney, a distance of approximately 100 miles. Uncertainty exists as to the degree of activity of this fault system and its classification as either one or two distinct faults. It is designated as active with a maximum credible earthquake of 8.0. This fault is capable of causing damage to the Planning area. Areas along this fault have been designated by the state as an Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone. Garlock Fault. The Garlock fault extends easterly from its point of intersection with the San Andreas fault, near Lebec, for a distance of approximately 150 miles. The fault is located approximately 35 miles southeast of downtown Bakersfield, outside of the Planning area. The Garlock fault zone is one of the most obvious geologic features in southern California, clearly marking the northern boundary of the area known as the Mojave Block, as well as the southern ends of the Sierra Nevada and the valleys of the westernmost Basin and Range province. While no earthquake has produced surface rupture on the Garlock fault in historic times (although cracks opened along a short segment of the fault in 1952, due to the shaking of the Kern County earthquake, and groundwater removal has also triggered slip in the Fremont Valley area), there have been a few sizable quakes recorded along the Garlock fault zone. The most recent was a magnitude 5.7 near the town of Mojave on July 11, 1992. It is thought to have been triggered by the Landers earthquake, just two weeks earlier. At least one section of the fault has shown movement by creep in recent years. These facts, along with the freshness of scarps left behind from previous ruptures and the on-going seismicity associated with the fault zone, leave little doubt that the Garlock fault zone will rupture again in the future. This is an active fault capable of causing damage to the Planning area. Areas along this fault have been designated by the state as an Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone. DRAFT JUNE 2002 4.6-2 Geologic and Seismic Hazards METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD GENERAL PLAN UPDATE EIR White Wolf Fault. The White Wolf fault is a southeast dipping left-lateral oblique reverse fault with a length of approximately 45 miles. This Fault is located approximately 19 miles south of downtown Bakersfield, outside of the Planning area. This fault traverses the southeast end of the San Joaquin Valley from Wheeler Ridge to northeast of Caliente. On July 21, 1952 the White Wolf fault ruptured, producing an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and subsequently an extensive sequence of after shocks. Although surface rupture formed along only 17 miles of the surface trace of the fault, rupture probably occurred along most of its 45-mile length. A magnitude 7.5 is considered close to the earthquake of greatest magnitude for the White Wolf fault. Significant features caused by the fault are the valley at the junction of Highways 58 and 223 (sometimes called “White Wolf Valley”), and the Arvin cutoff along State Route 223. This is an active fault capable of causing damage to the Planning area. This Fault has been designated by the state as an Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone. Other Significant Fault Systems. Other major fault systems in or near the Plan area include the Sierra Nevada, Edison, and Kern Front, and Pond-Poso Fault systems. Seismic Hazards As discussed above, the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley is bordered by major, active fault systems, making Bakersfield a historically active seismic area. The faults which have been identified in the vicinity of Bakersfield capable of causing damage are outlined in Table 4.6-1, Active Faults Capable of Causing Damage to the Bakersfield Area. Table 4.6-1 outlines the recognized active faults, their closest distances to downtown Bakersfield, and the maximum credible earthquake and maximum credible causative bedrock acceleration along each fault. The locations of the major faults which could potentially produce significant ground shaking are illustrated in Figure VIII-1 of the General Plan. An active fault is defined by the State Mining and Geology Board as one that has “had surface displacement within Holocene time (about the last 11,000 years).” This definition does not mean that faults lacking evidence for surface displacement within Holocene time are necessarily inactive. A fault may be presumed to be inactive based on satisfactory geologic evidence; however, the evidence necessary to prove inactivity is sometimes difficult to obtain and locally may not exist. A potentially active fault is a fault that shows evidence of surface displacement during Quaternary time (last 1.6 million years). On July 21, 1952, the well-known Kern County earthquakes began as a result of movement along the White Wolf Fault. The initial shock was a 7.5 magnitude shake with the epicenter near Wheeler Ridge. Extensive damage occurred to older buildings in Bakersfield, as well as utility outages and ground rupture due to liquefaction south of the City of Bakersfield. Severe damage also occurred in the cities of Tehachapi and Arvin to the southeast of the Plan area. DRAFT JUNE 2002 4.6-3 Geologic and Seismic Hazards METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD GENERAL PLAN UPDATE EIR Potential seismic hazards affecting the Plan area include the following: fault rupture; strong ground shaking; ground failure (such as collapse, landslides and liquefaction); and dam failure. The following analysis addresses the presence/ absence of these hazards along with their characteristics: Fault Rupture. Surface rupture occurs when movement on a fault deep within the earth breaks through to the surface.
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