Geological Mapping and Analysis of Red Mountain Fault, Owens Valley, California
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Fault Scarp, Owens Valley, GIS
Abstract
Fault scarps and offset landforms identified using GIS tools and techniques map and describe the Red Mountain Fault in Owens Valley, California. The Red Mountain Fault (RMF) is a N-S-oriented, west-dipping normal fault that runs parallel to the right-lateral Owens Valley Fault (OVF). The fault scarps span 9.5 km, and are roughly continuous in the north, while the southernmost 3 km are segmented. The fault cuts ~100 ka alluvial fan deposits and 63-84 ka Crater Mountain Basalt, suggesting that all measured offset is younger than ~60 ka. Topographic profiles pulled from a lidar-derived DEM were exported into an Excel program that conducted Monte Carlo analysis to calculate offset by predicting the most likely result and computing the uncertainty. The amount of vertical offset ranges from 0.79 ± 0.2 m to 7.31 ± 0.3 m. There has been erosion of the fault scarp and sedimentary deposition on the hanging wall of the fault, so calculated offset values are considered minimal. The largest offsets are in the central portion, decreasing towards the ends, a typical offset distribution along a normal fault. Determining the amount of offset and extension along the RMF can help us understand the Quaternary tectonics of Owens Valley, where strain appears to be partitioned between major right lateral faults like the OVF and smaller normal faults like the RMF.
Recommended Citation
Larsen, Erik, "Geological Mapping and Analysis of Red Mountain Fault, Owens Valley, California" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 16.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/posters/16
Poster Number
11
Department/Program
Geological Sciences
Additional Mentoring Department
Geological Sciences
Geological Mapping and Analysis of Red Mountain Fault, Owens Valley, California
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
Fault scarps and offset landforms identified using GIS tools and techniques map and describe the Red Mountain Fault in Owens Valley, California. The Red Mountain Fault (RMF) is a N-S-oriented, west-dipping normal fault that runs parallel to the right-lateral Owens Valley Fault (OVF). The fault scarps span 9.5 km, and are roughly continuous in the north, while the southernmost 3 km are segmented. The fault cuts ~100 ka alluvial fan deposits and 63-84 ka Crater Mountain Basalt, suggesting that all measured offset is younger than ~60 ka. Topographic profiles pulled from a lidar-derived DEM were exported into an Excel program that conducted Monte Carlo analysis to calculate offset by predicting the most likely result and computing the uncertainty. The amount of vertical offset ranges from 0.79 ± 0.2 m to 7.31 ± 0.3 m. There has been erosion of the fault scarp and sedimentary deposition on the hanging wall of the fault, so calculated offset values are considered minimal. The largest offsets are in the central portion, decreasing towards the ends, a typical offset distribution along a normal fault. Determining the amount of offset and extension along the RMF can help us understand the Quaternary tectonics of Owens Valley, where strain appears to be partitioned between major right lateral faults like the OVF and smaller normal faults like the RMF.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Anne Egger