Earthquake swarm near Denio, Nevada, February to April, 1973

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Authors

Richins, William D

Issue Date

1974

Type

Thesis

Language

en_US

Keywords

Historic Earthquake , Nevada , Earthquake Swarms , Fault Plane Solutions , Right-lateral Oblique-slip Motion , Western Basin , Tripartite Array , Reversal Of Polarity , Mackay Theses and Dissertations Grant Collection

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Abstract

An investigation of historic earthquake activity in northwest Nevada shows that earthquake swarms are typical. Evidence suggests that these swarms are associated with geothermal activity. An earthquake swarm occurred during February, March and April, 1973, 20 kilometers south of Denio on the Nevada/'Oregon border. The largest event of the sequence was a magnitude 5.3 shock on 3 March. Fault plane solutions indicate right-lateral oblique-slip motion on a plane striking N11°W and dipping 60°E. This mechanism is very similar to those of the 1954 Fairview Pc ale and other earthquakes in the western Basin and Range, and is consistent with regional extension in a WNW-ESE direction. During March and April, a small tripartite array recorded more than 1,500 events of this sequence, and 221 of these were selected for detailed analysis. Epicenters of these events fall in a north-south trending zone, 8 kilometers in length and 2 kilometers wide; focal depths range from 5 1/2 to 8 1/2 kilometers. The b-value for this sequence is 1.00 which is considerably higher than 0.81 found for northwest Nevada as a whole, high b-values have been found in laboratory experiments for heterogeneous materials and for rocks under low to moderate stress.

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University of Nevada, Reno

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In Copyright(All Rights Reserved)

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