Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Eastern Denali Fault surface trace map, eastern Alaska and Yukon, Canada

May 4, 2017

We map the 385-kilometer (km) long surface trace of the right-lateral, strike-slip Denali Fault between the Totschunda-Denali Fault intersection in Alaska, United States and the village of Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada. In Alaska, digital elevation models based on light detection and ranging and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data enabled our fault mapping at scales of 1:2,000 and 1:10,000, respectively. Lacking such resources in Yukon, we developed new structure-from-motion digital photogrammetry products from legacy aerial photos to map the fault surface trace at a scale of 1:10,000 east of the international border. The section of the fault that we map, referred to as the Eastern Denali Fault, did not rupture during the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake (moment magnitude 7.9). Seismologic, geodetic, and geomorphic evidence, along with a paleoseismic record of past ground-rupturing earthquakes, demonstrate Holocene and contemporary activity on the fault, however. This map of the Eastern Denali Fault surface trace complements other data sets by providing an openly accessible digital interpretation of the location, length, and continuity of the fault’s surface trace based on the accompanying digital topography dataset. Additionally, the digitized fault trace may provide geometric constraints useful for modeling earthquake scenarios and related seismic hazard.

Publication Year 2017
Title Eastern Denali Fault surface trace map, eastern Alaska and Yukon, Canada
DOI 10.3133/ofr20171049
Authors Adrian M. Bender, Peter J. Haeussler
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2017-1049
Index ID ofr20171049
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Alaska Science Center Geology Minerals