Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

2018 U.S. Geological Survey–California Geological Survey fault-imaging surveys across the Hollywood and Santa Monica Faults, Los Angeles County, California

May 8, 2020

We acquired multiple types of seismic data across the Hollywood Fault in Hollywood, Calif., and the Santa Monica Fault in Beverly Hills, Calif., in May and June 2018. On the basis of our data, we infer near-surface locations of various traces of these faults.
From two separate profiles across the Hollywood Fault, we evaluated multiple seismic datasets and models, including guided-wave data, tomographic VP data, tomographic VS data, VP/VS and Poisson’s ratio models derived from tomographic VP and VS data, Rayleigh-wave–based VS models, Love-wave–based VS models, VP/VS and Poisson’s ratio models (derived from combinations of tomographic-based VP and surface-wave–based VS models), P-wave reflection images, and S-wave reflection images. All of these data and models can be used to delineate near-surface faulting, and the data consistently infer near-surface fault traces of the Hollywood Fault in the same locations. Importantly, the combined data indicate more than one near-surface fault trace of the Hollywood Fault. Between North Bronson and North Gower Avenues, evidence exists for a near-surface trace of the Hollywood Fault slightly south of Carlos Avenue. Farther west, along Argyle Avenue, our data contain high levels of cultural noise, but we interpret near-surface faulting slightly south of the intersection of Carlos and Argyle Avenues and between Carlos Avenue and Yucca Street.
For the Santa Monica Fault in Beverly Hills, we acquired guided-wave data only along Lasky Drive between Moreno Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard, owing to limited access permissions. However, we used two separate source locations to generate the guided-wave data (SP1 and SP2). The data from more distant source location (relative to the recording array, SP1) were noisy, but on the basis of those data, we infer near-surface faulting at several locations along Lasky Drive, with concentrated near-surface faulting slightly south of the intersection of Lasky Drive and Charleville Boulevard. Guided-wave data generated at the closer source location (relative to recording array, SP2) more clearly show evidence for distributed near-surface faulting at several locations along Lasky Drive, with concentrated faulting near the intersection of Lasky Drive and Charleville Boulevard.
Although the seismic surveys across both faults provide strong evidence for the locations of near-surface fault traces, the seismic data provide little or no information about the rupture history of the fault traces.

Publication Year 2020
Title 2018 U.S. Geological Survey–California Geological Survey fault-imaging surveys across the Hollywood and Santa Monica Faults, Los Angeles County, California
DOI 10.3133/ofr20201049
Authors Rufus D. Catchings, Janis Hernandez, Mark R. Goldman, Joanne H. Chan, Robert R. Sickler, Brian Olson, Coyn J. Criley
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2020-1049
Index ID ofr20201049
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Earthquake Science Center