Project Overview

The research presented in this publication provides an investigation of the development of the landscape in areas of active tectonics from several different perspectives. It is the goal of the project to present a multi- disciplinary study of land form development by observing the effects of tectonic uplift in areas of active tectonics versus geomorphic degradation and deposition. Detailed observations of original forms and initial modifications of the tectonic land forms, a quantitative model for tectonic and geomorphic displacements applied to hillslope development in areas of active tectonics, an application of that model to the morphologic dating of fault scarps along the San Andreas Fault (SAF) zone in the Carrizo Plain, California, and observations and models of progressive deformation and degradation along the SAF in the Carrizo Plain are included herein.

The first section in this report (A Model for geomorphic and tectonic displacements applied to hillslope development in areas of active tectonics) presents a quantitative model for describing the effects of the forces described above. The next section (Application of a hillslope development model to scarps along the San Andreas Fault, Carrizo Plain, California) explores the application of the model developed in the first section to observed field conditions in the Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obsipo County, California. Application of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to the Carrizo Plain Area, California shows how a geographic information system may be used to aide in the mapping and study of this area. Finally, the future goals and current status of the project are described in Future Goals of the Project.

The Carrizo Plain

Shaded relief map of central California showing the situation of the Carrizo Plain in the Coast Ranges. The orange line shows the surface trace of the San Andreas Fault, and is thicker along the portion that is inferred to have ruptured in the 1857 earthquake [Sieh, 1978]. The blue line is adjacent to the Parkfield Segment (PS) of the SAF, while the red line is adjacent to the Cholame Segment (CS). TR is Temblor Range; CR is Caliente Range; CV is Cuyama Valley; LP is La Panza Range; SV is Salinas Valley; CP is Cajon Pass; TP is Tejon Pass; W is Wrightwood. Original relief map is from Relief map of the world: cylindrical projection; elevation data from ETOPO5 dataset; by Ray Sterner, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

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