Geological Mapping and Analysis of Red Mountain Fault, Owens Valley, California

Presenter Information

Erik Larsen

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.

Poster Number

11

Faculty Mentor(s)

Anne Egger

Department/Program

Geological Sciences

Additional Mentoring Department

Geological Sciences

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May 21st, 8:30 AM May 21st, 11:00 AM

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.