Paleoseismic targets, seismic hazard, and urban areas in the Central and Eastern United States

Published geologic information from the central and eastern United States identifies 83 faults, groups of sand blows, named seismic zones, and other geological features as known or suspected products of Quaternary tectonic faulting. About one fifth of the features are known to contain faulted Quaternary materials or seismically induced liquefaction phenomena, but the origin and associated seismic hazard of most of the other features remain uncertain. Most of the features are in or near large urban areas. The largest cluster of features is in the Boston-Washington urban corridor (2005 estimated population: 50 million). The proximity of most features to populous areas identifies paleoseismic targets with potential to impact urban-hazard estimates.