Post–12 Ma deformation in the lower Colorado River corridor, southwestern USA: Implications for diffuse transtension and the Bouse Formation

Thacker, Jacob O.; Karlstrom, Karl E.; Crossey, Laura J.; Crow, Ryan S.; Cassidy, Colleen E.; Beard, Les P.; Singleton, John S.; Strickland, Evan D.; Seymour, Nikki M.; Wyatt, Michael R.

doi:10.1130/ges02104.1

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

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“…Singleton (2015) found evidence for post ∼11-Ma, NW-striking dextral and oblique dextral-normal faults at the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex near longitude W113.75° and latitude N34°. Thacker et al (2020) analyzed structural data of the lower Colorado River corridor located inboard of the SAFS along California-Arizona border (Figure 1) and characterize post-12 Ma deformation occurring before, during, and after the deposition of the ca. 6-4.8 Ma Bouse Formation as a broad, diffuse zone of low strain dominated by E-W extension with a portion of the E-W extension taken up on reactivation of NW-SE striking faults resulting in oblique dextral-normal and dextral faults.…”

Section: Geodetic and Geologic Discrepanciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geodetic Extension Across the Southern Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau

et al. 2021

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Elastic strain accumulation in the Earth's crust is the primary driver of continental earthquakes and can pose significant seismic hazards. Regional studies of seismic hazard in the southern Basin and Range Province (SBR) and Colorado Plateau Province (CP) include assessments of risk to transportation (Euge et al., 1992), buildings (Ghanat et al., 2015, hydro-electric power, and water resources (Lockridge, Fouch, Arrowsmith, & Linkimer, 2012) and the Palo Verde nuclear power plant (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2016). Strain rates can be used with seismicity, fault location, and slip rate data to characterize areas of deformation and enhance regional assessments of potential seismic hazard.The crustal strain-rate field in diffuse plate boundary zones can be affected by both long-term and shortterm processes. Improved understanding of the long-term deformation patterns can be incorporated into models of plate boundary zone hazards (e.g., Petersen et al., 2014) and provide constraints for studies of the forces that act on the lithosphere (e.g., Flesch & Kreemer, 2010). Strain rates along the Wasatch fault zone of the northwestern margin of the CP have been the focus of numerous studies (e.g., Bennett et al., 2003;Niemi et al., 2004) and are better constrained than along the southern and southwestern margin. The poor constraints in the latter areas are due to the low levels of deformation and, until recently, the sparseness of data in southern Utah, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.In this study, we analyze crustal motions in the SBR and southern portion of the CP (Figure 1) using two regional densifications of the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) (Herring et al., 2016) network established with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) EarthScope Science Program (Berglund et al., 2012;Kreemer et al., 2015). GPS sites installed by us in 2010 in the SBR and on the CP are referred to in the text and figures as EarthScope (ES) sites (Figure 2a). The expanded network is used in conjunction with the existing EarthScope PBO, MAGNET network (Blewitt et al., 2009) and Rio Grande Rift stations

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Section: Geodetic and Geologic Discrepanciesmentioning

confidence: 99%