Imperial Fault Zone

The Imperial Fault Zone is a system of geological faults located in Imperial County in the Southern California region, along the border of the United States and Mexico.

Geology

The Imperial Fault Zone is a right lateral-moving strike slip fault, representing the northernmost transform fault associated with the East Pacific Rise. It is connected to the San Andreas Fault by the Brawley Seismic Zone. It terminates on its southern end at another spreading center, the Cerro Prieto spreading center. Historical earthquakes along the fault have occurred in 1979, 1940 and 1915.

See also

• 1940 El Centro earthquake
• 2010 Baja California earthquake
• Gulf of California Rift Zone

External links

• Southern California Earthquake Data Center website: Imperial Fault Zone.

References

• A 300- to 550-year history of slip on the Imperial fault near the U.S.-Mexico border, Thomas and Rockwell (1996)