Paleoseismology of Utah, Volume 8: Paleoseismic investigation at Rock Canyon, Provo segment, Wasatch fault zone, Utah County, Utah (SS-93)

By: W. R. Lund and B. D. Black

This Utah Geological Survey Special Study, Paleoseismic Investigation at Rock Canyon, Provo Segment, Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah County, Utah, is the eighth report in the Paleoseismology of Utah Special Studies series. This series makes the results of paleoseismic investigations in Utah available to geoscientists, engineers, planners, public officials, and the general public. These studies provide critical information on earthquake timing, recurrence, displacement, slip rate, and fault geometry which can be used to characterize potential seismic sources and evaluate the long-term earthquake hazard presented by Utah's Quaternary faults.

Field work for this paleoseismic investigation at Rock Canyon was performed in 1988. It was one of three studies conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s to determine if the Provo segment of the Wasatch fault zone should be subdivided into three smaller segments as tentatively proposed by Machette and others on the basis of their geologic mapping. This investigation was the last of the three studies performed. Those results, combined with the results of paleoseismic investigations at American Fork Canyon and Mapleton, showed that the Wasatch fault where it passes through Utah Valley probably consists of a single, almost 70-kilometer-Iong fault segment (Machette and others, 1992). Publication of the details of the Rock Canyon study has been delayed for several years, chiefly due to the press of new job duties on the part of the investigators. The information remains important and is presented here for the use of those individuals interested in earthquake hazards and seismic-source characteristics of the Wasatch fault in Utah Valley.

Other Information:
Published: 1998
Pages: 21 p.
Plates: 2 pl.
Location: Utah County
Media Type: Paper Publication