An elusive blind-thrust fault beneath metropolitan los angeles

JH Shaw; PM Shearer

doi:10.1126/science.283.5407.1516

An elusive blind-thrust fault beneath metropolitan los angeles

Science. 1999 Mar 5;283(5407):1516-8. doi: 10.1126/science.283.5407.1516.

Authors

JH Shaw¹, PM Shearer

Affiliation

¹ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0225, USA.

PMID: 10066170
DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5407.1516

Abstract

Seismic reflection profiles, petroleum wells, and relocated earthquakes reveal the presence of an active blind-thrust fault beneath metropolitan Los Angeles. A segment of this fault likely caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows (magnitude 6.0) earthquake. Mapped sizes of other fault segments suggest that the system is capable of much larger (magnitude 6.5 to 7) and more destructive earthquakes.