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Surface Rupture Map of the 2020 M 6.5 Monte Cristo Range earthquake, Esmeralda and Mineral counties, Nevada

May 10, 2021

The 15 May 2020, M6.5 Monte Cristo Range earthquake was the largest earthquake in Nevada in over 66 years and occurred in a sparsely populated area of western Nevada about 74 km southeast of the town of Hawthorne. The earthquake produced surface rupture distributed across a 28-km-long zone along the eastward projection of the Candelaria fault in the Mina deflection of the central Walker Lane. Post-event field surveys mapped surface ruptures and measured displacements, which reached up to ~20 cm of oblique slip. Additional detailed mapping was completed using centimeter-resolution orthomosaics generated from Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle surveys. The rupture observations and displacement data are compiled into this 1:14,000-scale map, data tables, and accompanying digital dataset. The rupture consists of two distinct deformational domains roughly separated by U.S. Highway 95: ENE-trending ruptures with normal and left-oblique displacements in the western domain, and N- to NNE-trending ruptures with normal and right-oblique displacement in the eastern domain. The complex pattern of surface rupture is consistent with the projections of mapped bedrock and Quaternary faults in the area and illustrates the kinematics of slip partitioning at the junction of variably oriented structures in the shallow subsurface.

Publication Year 2021
Title Surface Rupture Map of the 2020 M 6.5 Monte Cristo Range earthquake, Esmeralda and Mineral counties, Nevada
Authors Seth Dee, Richard D Koehler, Austin John Elliott, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Alexandra Pickering, Ian Pierce, Gordon G. Seitz, Camille Marie Collett, Timothy E. Dawson, Conni De Masi, Craig M dePolo, Evan Hartsorn, Christopher Madugo, Charles Cashman Trexler, Danielle M Verdugo, Steven G. Wesnousky, Judith Zachariasen
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype State or Local Government Series
Series Title Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Map
Series Number 190
Index ID 70220306
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Earthquake Science Center