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Earthquake Science Center

The Earthquake Science Center has been the flagship research center of the USGS in the western United States for more than 50 years. It is the largest USGS research center in the West and houses extensive laboratories, scientific infrastructure, and research facilities.

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Earthquake Science Center Seminars

USGS logo and EQ Seminar Series

Seminars typically take place at 10:30 AM Wednesdays in the Rambo Auditorium (main USGS Conference Room). The USGS Campus is located at 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA.

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Earthquake Science Center Campus Video

man in front of slideshow presentation

This short, 7-minute video gives an overview of the USGS Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park, California. It briefly introduces you to the San Francisco Bay Area, shows the campus and facilities, and includes interviews with scientists.

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Handbooks to Help You Prepare for an Earthquake

Cartoon sketch of house on grassy hill

USGS handbooks that describe the threat posed by earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region and explain how you can prepare for, survive, and recover from these inevitable events.

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News

Ozette Lake: A natural seismograph along the northern Cascadia Subduction Zone (Video)

Ozette Lake: A natural seismograph along the northern Cascadia Subduction Zone (Video)

Earthquake swarms in California: What’s the difference between magmatic and tectonic? 

Earthquake swarms in California: What’s the difference between magmatic and tectonic? 

Even small lakes can tell big earthquake stories in the Yellowstone region

Even small lakes can tell big earthquake stories in the Yellowstone region

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Publications

Final Report for SCEC Award #25347 - A dynamic rupture workshop to improve our understanding of fault friction Final Report for SCEC Award #25347 - A dynamic rupture workshop to improve our understanding of fault friction

No abstract available.
Authors
Ruth A. Harris, Michael Barall
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

Site response models based on geometric parameters for southern California sedimentary basins Site response models based on geometric parameters for southern California sedimentary basins

Site response in sedimentary basins is influenced by complex three-dimensional (3D) features, including trapping of seismic waves, focusing of seismic energy and basin resonance. Current ground motion models (GMMs) incorporate basin effects using one-dimensional parameters like VS30 and shear wave velocity isosurface depths, which are limited in capturing lateral and 3D effects. To...
Authors
Rashid Shams, Chukwuebuka C. Nweke, Grace Alexandra Parker
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

Latest Pleistocene to 19th-century earthquakes on bending-moment reverse faults of the Seattle fault zone, Washington Latest Pleistocene to 19th-century earthquakes on bending-moment reverse faults of the Seattle fault zone, Washington

Fault-related folds and their associated secondary faults play a critical yet often underrecognized role in accommodating strain and generating earthquakes in active fold-and-thrust belts. In the Seattle fault zone (SFZ), Washington, USA, we present new paleoseismic, geomorphic, and geophysical evidence for late Pleistocene and Holocene earthquakes on shallow, south-dipping secondary...
Authors
Stephen J. Angster, Brian L. Sherrod, Jessie K. Pearl, Lydia M. Staisch, Wes Johns, Richard J. Blakely
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center
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