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Geodetic measurement of deformation in the central Mojave Desert, CaliforniaData from triangulation and trilateration surveys made during 1934-1982 are used to calculate shear strain rates in the central Mojave Desert of California. For the region between the Helendale and Camp Rock faults the shear strain rate was determined to be 0.16 + or - 0.03 microstrain/yr, with maximum right-lateral shear strain occurring on a plane oriented N41 deg W + or - 5 deg. If this deformation is due to right-lateral motion across the northwest trending local faults, the average shear straining corresponds to a relative displacement of 6.7 + or - 1.3 mm/yr across this portion of the network, accounting for about 12 percent of the predicted 56 mm/yr of relative motion between the North Atlantic and Pacific plates. From the Camp Rock fault eastward across the network there is a transition from significant to very low strain rates. Examination of nine focal mechanisms and their relation to the local geology and the strain data suggests that most of the long-term displacement occurs on the major northwest trending faults oriented nearly along the direction of relative motion between the North American and Pacific plates. Secondary faulting, controlled by a Coulomb-Anderson failure mechanism or by slip on preexisting faults can account for the occurrence of earthquakes on faults of other orientations.
Document ID
19870035700
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Sauber, Jeanne
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Solomon, Sean C.
(MIT Cambridge, MA, United States)
Thatcher, Wayne
(USGS Menlo Park, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
November 10, 1986
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 91
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
87A22974
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-27339
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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