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Jonathan C Matti, PhD

Jonathan is an Emeritus at the Tucson office of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He received a PhD degree in geology from Stanford University in 1978. Since joining the USGS in 1977, he has performed a variety of applied- and basic-research investigations.

Among these, his research into the long-term history of the San Andreas Fault in southern California stands out.

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Geology, Stanford University, 1978

  • M.S., Geology, University of California, Riverside, 1971

  • B.S., Geology, University of California, Riverside, 1969

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • San Bernardino National Forest 

  • San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency 

  • San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water Agency 

  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management 

  • Joshua Tree National Park,

  • San Bernardino County Geologist 

  • Riverside County Geologist 

  • Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC)

Science and Products

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San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain

San Andreas Fault System in Southern California

Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and countless visitors who live, recreate, consume resources, and face the risk of natural hazards in the region. This project produces high-quality, multi-purpose geologic maps, databases, and reports that portray our understanding of the region’s four-dimensional geologic framework. We conduct stratigraphic, structural, geomorphological...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Andreas Fault System in Southern California

Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and countless visitors who live, recreate, consume resources, and face the risk of natural hazards in the region. This project produces high-quality, multi-purpose geologic maps, databases, and reports that portray our understanding of the region’s four-dimensional geologic framework. We conduct stratigraphic, structural, geomorphological...
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Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in the Lucerne Valley groundwater basin, California

The Lucerne Valley is in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert and is about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Lucerne Valley groundwater basin encompasses about 230 square miles and is separated from the Upper Mojave Valley groundwater basin by splays of the Helendale Fault. Since its settlement, groundwater has been the primary source of water for agricultural, industrial, m
Authors
Christina Stamos-Pfeiffer, Joshua Larsen, Robert E. Powell, Jonathan C. Matti, Peter Martin
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, California Water Science Center

Geology and hydrogeology of the Yucaipa groundwater subbasin, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

The Yucaipa groundwater subbasin (referred to in this report as the Yucaipa subbasin) is located about 75 miles (mi) east of of Los Angeles and about 12 mi southeast of the City of San Bernardino. In the Yucaipa subbasin, as in much of southern California, limited annual rainfall and large water demands can strain existing water supplies; therefore, understanding local surface water and groundwate
Authors
Geoffrey Cromwell, Jonathan C. Matti
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Evaluation of the Source and Transport of High Nitrate Concentrations in Ground Water, Warren Subbasin, California

Ground water historically has been the sole source of water supply for the Town of Yucca Valley in the Warren subbasin of the Morongo ground-water basin, California. An imbalance between ground-water recharge and pumpage caused ground-water levels in the subbasin to decline by as much as 300 feet from the late 1940s through 1994. In response, the local water district, Hi-Desert Water District, ins
Authors
Tracy Nishikawa, Jill N. Densmore, Peter Martin, Jonathan C. Matti
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Late Quaternary slip history of the Mill Creek strand of the San Andreas fault in San Gorgonio Pass, southern California: The role of a subsidiary left-lateral fault in strand switching

The fault history of the Mill Creek strand of the San Andreas fault (SAF) in the San Gorgonio Pass region, along with the reconstructed geomorphology surrounding this fault strand, reveals the important role of the left-lateral Pinto Mountain fault in the regional fault strand switching. The Mill Creek strand has 7.1–8.7 km total slip. Following this displacement, the Pinto Mountain fault offset t
Authors
Katherine J. Kendrick, Jonathan C. Matti, Shannon A. Mahan
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Earthquake Science Center

Basin thickness variations at the Junction of the Eastern California Shear Zone and the San Bernardino Mountains, California: How thick could the Pliocene sections be?

We estimate the thickness of Neogene basin fill along the junction of the Eastern California Shear Zone and the North Frontal thrust system of the San Bernardino Mountains using gravity data with geologic and well log constraints. The geometry of the basin fill is of interest for groundwater assessment and location of potential faults, as well as providing an upper bound on the thickness of any po
Authors
Victoria E. Langenheim, Tammy L. Surko, Phillip A. Armstrong, Jonathan C. Matti
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Extension and contraction within an evolving divergent strike-slip fault complex: The San Andreas and San Jacinto fault zones at their convergence in southern California

A variety of extensional and contractional structures is produced by strike slip faulting. The variety and extent of the structures are directly related to the kind and extent of geometric complexities of the fault zone or system. The area of convergence of the San Andreas fault zone and the much younger San Jacinto fault zone in the eastern Transverse Ranges is exquisitely complex. We propose tha
Authors
Douglas M. Morton, Jonathan C. Matti

A speculative history of the San Andreas fault in the central Transverse Ranges, California

It is generally accepted that the San Andreas fault formed between 4 and 5 Ma and that rocks west of it are now part of the Pacific plate, moving northwest relative to North America at 5 to 6 cm/yr. This model is inconsistent with the geologic record in the central Transverse Ranges.Right-lateral shear began in the vicinity of the San Andreas fault system in early Miocene time. The San Andreas fau
Authors
R.J. Weldon, K. E. Meisling, J. Alexander

Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government