QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Hunter Mountain- Saline Valley fault

60 kmlong (37 mi), as mapped
1–5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
9quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 1 to 5 mm a year — 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 inches) every century.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.4 in 1872 (The 1872 Owens Valley, California Earthquake) — about 4,000,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 1.9 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 2 sections: Hunter Mountain section, Saline Valley section.

This week vs. its last ten years

Too quiet to rank: fewer than half a year's worth of weeks with any M1.5+ quake within 5 km, in ten years. A single quake here would read as "unusual", so we do not score it.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultSouthern Sierra Nevada faultOwens Valley faultKern Canyon faultWhite Mountains faultNorthern Death Valley faultFish Lake Valley faultBlack Mountains faultAsh Hill faultTowne Pass faultDeep Springs fault M 7.4 · 1872 · The 1872 Owens Valley, California Earthquake
The Hunter Mountain- Saline Valley fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 9 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.4 The 1872 Owens Valley, California Earthquake
    March 26, 1872 · epicentre 20 km from the trace
  2. M 4.7 36km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    August 19, 2020 · epicentre 3 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.5 23km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2022-10-30 · 8 km from the trace
  2. M 2.8 36km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2021-05-28 · 4 km from the trace
  3. M 2.6 36km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2021-05-25 · 4 km from the trace
  4. M 2.6 35km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2021-05-25 · 4 km from the trace
  5. M 2.6 36km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2021-04-15 · 3 km from the trace
  6. M 2.5 35km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
    2020-09-30 · 4 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.