Garlock Fault

E63908

The Garlock Fault is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault in southern California that forms the northern boundary of the Mojave Desert and plays a key role in the region’s complex tectonic deformation.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf geologic fault
left-lateral fault
strike-slip fault
activityStatus active fault
associatedWith Eastern California Shear Zone
San Andreas Fault system
capableOf large earthquakes
controls local topography along its trace
country United States
crosses El Paso Mountains region
Tehachapi Mountains region
deformationStyle strike-slip with local compressional and extensional step-overs
displacementType horizontal displacement
formsBoundaryBetween Mojave Desert and Sierra Nevada foothills
Mojave Desert and southern Basin and Range province
formsBoundaryOf Mojave Desert
formsNorthernBoundaryOf Mojave Desert
geologicAge late Cenozoic activity
hazardType seismic hazard
influences drainage patterns in the northern Mojave Desert
knownFor major component of complex tectonic deformation in southern California
length approximately 155 miles
approximately 250 kilometers
locatedIn southern California
mapFeature prominent linear feature on regional geologic maps
movementType left-lateral strike-slip
nearbyCity Mojave, California
Ridgecrest, California
orientation east–west
partOf North American Cordillera tectonic system
Pacific–North America plate boundary zone
region Mojave Desert
southern Basin and Range transition
runsFrom San Andreas Fault near the Tehachapi Mountains
runsTo Death Valley region
separates Mojave Desert block
Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block
slipRate on the order of a few millimeters per year
slipSense sinistral
state California
studiedBy seismologists
structural geologists
tectonicRole accommodates left-lateral shear between Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block and Mojave Desert block
tectonicSetting boundary between Mojave Desert and Sierra Nevada microplate
transform plate boundary zone
terminatesNear Death Valley

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Transverse Ranges
crossedBy
North American plate boundary system
hasPart

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