Seismic potential revealed by surface folding: 1983 Coalinga, California, earthquake

R.S. Stein; G.C.P. King

doi:10.1126/science.224.4651.869

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Seismic potential revealed by surface folding: 1983 Coalinga, California, earthquake

R.S. Stein·G.C.P. King

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Abstract

The 2 May 1983 Coalinga, California, earthquake (magnitude 6.5) failed to rupture through surface deposits and, instead, elastically folded the top few kilometers of the crust. The subsurface rate of fault slip and the earthquake repeat time are estimated from seismic, geodetic, and geologic data. Three larger earthquakes (up to magnitude 7.5) during the past 20 years are also shown to have struck on reverse faults concealed beneath active folds.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 36.05662697531848° to 36.24324425094643° latitude; -120.50649916410444° to -120.24670967137163° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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R.S. Stein, G.C.P. King. 1984. Seismic potential revealed by surface folding: 1983 Coalinga, California, earthquake. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.224.4651.869

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