What is a "Quaternary" fault?
A Quaternary fault is one that has been recognized at the surface and that has moved in the past 1,600,000 years (1.6 million years). That places fault movement within the Quaternary Period, which covers the last 2.6 million years.
Related Content
Why are there so many faults in the Quaternary Faults Database with the same name?
Why are there no faults in the Great Valley of central California?
Why are there so many earthquakes and faults in the Western United States?
Where can I find a fault map of the United States? Is one available in GIS format?
How do I find the nearest fault to a property or specific location?
How do I find fault or hazard maps for California?
What is a fault and what are the different types?
What is the relationship between faults and earthquakes? What happens to a fault when an earthquake occurs?
Divisions of geologic time—Major chronostratigraphic and geochronologic units
IntroductionEffective communication in the geosciences requires a consistent nomenclature for stratigraphic units and, especially, for divisions of geologic time. A geologic time scale is composed of standard stratigraphic divisions based on rock sequences and is calibrated in years.Geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State...
UCERF3: A new earthquake forecast for California's complex fault system
With innovations, fresh data, and lessons learned from recent earthquakes, scientists have developed a new earthquake forecast model for California, a region under constant threat from potentially damaging events. The new model, referred to as the third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, or "UCERF" (http://www.WGCEP.org/UCERF3),...
Field, Edward H.
20 cool facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone-Commemorating the bicentennial of the New Madrid earthquake sequence, December 1811-February 1812 [poster]
This poster summarizes a few of the more significant facts about the series of large earthquakes that struck the New Madrid seismic zone of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and adjacent parts of Tennessee and Kentucky from December 1811 to February 1812. Three earthquakes in this sequence had a magnitude (M) of 7.0 or greater. The...
Williams, R.A.; McCallister, N.S.; Dart, R.L.
Where's the San Andreas fault? A guidebook to tracing the fault on public lands in the San Francisco Bay region
Stoffer, Philip W.
Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States
Machette, Michael N.; Haller, Kathleen M.; Dart, R.L.; Rhea, S.B. Young faults
Wallace, R.E.
Preliminary map showing known and suspected active faults in Colorado
Witkind, Irving Jerome
Preliminary map showing known and suspected active faults in Idaho
Witkind, Irving Jerome
Preliminary map showing known and suspected active faults in Wyoming
Witkind, Irving Jerome
Preliminary map showing known and suspected active faults in western Montana
Witkind, Irving Jerome
Prior Great Earthquakes Unveiled at the Western Edge of the 1964 Alaska Rupture
Ever since the great magnitude 9.2 earthquake shook Alaska 50 years ago today, scientists have suspected that the quake's rupture halted at the southwestern tip of Kodiak Island due to a natural barrier.
A Virtual Tour of the Hayward Fault
The U.S. Geological Survey has a new website that offers a virtual tour of the Hayward fault.
USGS Releases Quaternary Fault Database for the Nation
What are the faults in my state and where are they? When did they last have an earthquake? Now you can find out the answer to these questions online through a user-friendly interface developed by the USGS.
Cat Scan'-Like Seismic Study of Earthquake Zone Helps Set Stage for Fault Drilling Project
In a first of its kind study U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Duke University seismologists have used tiny "microearthquakes" along a section of California’s notorious San Andreas Fault to create unique images of the contorted geology scientists will face as they continue drilling deeper into the fault zone to construct a major earthquake "observatory.
Alaska Interior Reveals Scars and Ruptures from 7.9 Denali Fault Quake
Sunday’s magnitude 7.9 earthquake in central Alaska created a scar across the landscape for more than 145 miles, according to surveys conducted the past two days by geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey.
Santa Rosa area showing active faults
Shaded relief image of the Santa Rosa area showing active faults (black lines) and the detailed rupture pattern of the Rodgers Creek Fault where it crosses central Santa Rosa (in red). The orange, bean-shaped area represents the dense, magnetic body of rock on the east side of the fault beneath Santa Rosa. This body of rock may be largely responsible for the pattern of
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USGS Geologists Inspecting Fault Trace in a Trench
View of geologists pointing to fault in a trench dug across one of the ruptures from the 2014 South Napa earthquake. From front to rear: Alexandra Pickering, Suzanne Hecker, Aaron Page (all USGS). Trench located approximately 3 miles NW of downtown Napa, CA.
Exposed faults
Two faults (located on either side of project geologist Chris Fridrich) cutting Pleistocene fluvial gravels on the northern edge of the Poncha mountain block. These and other young faults exposed in area help reveal the latest kinematic (movement) and paleostress histories of the mountain block.
Denali Fault: Canwell Glacier
Peter Haeussler prepares to measure the offset of a crevasse on the Canwell Glacier.
Totschunda Fault
View southeast along the Totschunda fault.
San-Andreas Fault
Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain. By Ikluft - Own work, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3106006
Traces of the Hayward Fault, California
The purpose of this map is to show the location of and evidence for recent movement on active fault traces within the Hayward Fault Zone, California. The mapped traces represent the integration of the following three different types of data: (1) geomorphic expression, (2) creep (aseismic fault slip),and (3) trench exposures.
Map of known active geologic faults in the San Francisco Bay region
Map of known active geologic faults in the San Francisco Bay region, California, including the Hayward Fault. The 72 percent probability of a magnitude (M) 6.7 or greater earthquake in the region includes well-known major plate-boundary faults, lesser-known faults, and unknown faults. The percentage shown within each colored circle is the probability that a M 6.7 or
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Quaternary and Tertiary sediments seen in exposure along Niobrara Rive
Dark organic-rich beds at top of exposure in fine-grained Quaternary colluvium (?) probably are associated with grade of the fluvial system that was several meters higher than present. Most of the exposure is of underlying Tertiary sediments. Geologic mapping and geochronology of Quaternary terraces will provide constraints on the downcutting history of the Niobrara River
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