JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 101, NO.

B4, PAGES 8623-8642, APRIL 10, 1996

Earthquake hazards of active blind-thrust faults under the

central Los Angeles basin, California
John H. Shaw
TexacoExplorationand ProductionTechnologyDepartment,Houston,Texas

John Suppe
Departmentof Geologicaland GeophysicalSciences,PrincetonUniversity,Princeton,New Jersey

Abstract. We documentseveralblind-thrustfaults under the Los Angelesbasinthat, if

activeand seismogenic, are capableof generatinglarge earthquakes(M = 6.3 to 7.3).
Plioceneto Quaternarygrowthfolds imagedin seismicreflectionprofilesrecordthe
existence,size, and slip ratesof theseblind faults.The growthstructureshave shapes
characteristicof fault-bendfolds aboveblind thrusts,as demonstratedby balanced
kinematicmodels,geologiccrosssections,and axial-surfacemaps.We interpret the
Compton-LosAlamitos trend as a growthfold abovethe Comptonramp, which extends
alongstrikefrom west Los Angelesto at least the SantaAna River. The Comptonthrust
is part of a larger fault system,includinga decollementand rampsbeneaththe Elysian
Park and PalosVerdes trends.The Cienegasand CoyoteHills growthfolds overlie
additionalblind thrustsin the ElysianPark trend that are not closelylinked to the
Comptonramp. Analysisof folded Plioceneto Quaternarystratayieldsslip rates of 1.4 _+
0.4 mm/yr on the Comptonthrust and 1.7 + 0.4 mm/yr on a ramp beneaththe Elysian
Park trend. Assumingthat slip is releasedin large earthquakes,we estimatemagnitudesof
6.3 to 6.8 for earthquakeson individualramp segmentsbasedon geometricsegmentsizes
derivedfrom axial surfacemaps.Multiple-segmentrupturescouldyield larger earthquakes
(M -- 6.9 to 7.3). Relationsamongmagnitude,coseismic displacement,and slip rate yield
an averagerecurrenceinterval of 380 yearsfor single-segment earthquakesand a range of
400 to 1300yearsfor multiple-segmentevents.If thesenewly documentedblind thrust
faults are active,they will contributesubstantiallyto the seismichazardsin Los Angeles
becauseof their locationsdirectlybeneaththe metropolitanarea.

Introduction capable of generatingmoderate to large events [Hauksson,

1990].
The Los Angeles basin lies near the southern California The 1987Whittier Narrows(M = 6.0) and 1994Northridge
coastbetweenthe Transverseand PeninsularRanges(Figure (M = 6.7) blind-thrustearthquakes, whichcollectivelycaused
1, inset). The central basin consistsof Quaternary through more than $25 billion in damage,demonstratedthe risksof
upper Miocene strata that are more than 5 km thick and blind-thrustearthquakesnear metropolitanareas [Hauksson
overlie middle Miocene through Upper Cretaceousunits and Jones,1989;Davis et al., 1989; USGS and SCEC Scientists,
[Yerkeset al., 1965] and MesozoicCatalina schist[Crouchand 1994]. Blind thrusts are dip-slip faults that do not cut the
Suppe,1994].The Miocene historyof the Los Angelesbasinis Earth's surfaceand often haveoverlying,cogeneticfold trends.
marked by crustal-scaleextensionaltectonics,beginningas We applythe term blind thrust to low-anglethrustrampsand
earlyas24 Ma. A transitionto the present-daytranspressional decollementsaswell ashigh-anglereversefaults.Althoughthe
tectonicsbegan at approximately4 Ma and produced the cogeneticfoldshave near-surfaceexpressions, the faults them-
northwest-southeast trending basin geometry [Wright, 1991; selvesare commonlydeeperin the crustat seismogenic depths
Yeatsand Beall, 1991;Crouchand Suppe,1993].The basinand (e.g., the 1980 (M = 7.3) E1 Asnam; 1983 (M = 6.5)
surroundingregion are beingdeformedby severalactivefault Coalinga;1985 (M = 6.1) Kettlemanearthquakes[Kingand
zonesthat have producedmoderate-size,historicearthquakes Vita-Finzi, 1981;Steinand Yeats,1989].
includingthe 1933 Long Beach (M1 = 6.3), 1971 San Fer- To assess regionalearthquakehazards,we investigateactive
nando (M = 6.7), 1987 Whittier Narrows(M = 6.0), and blind-thrustfaulting around the central Los Angelesbasinus-
1994Northridge(M = 6.7) events[Hauksson andJones,1989; ing a grid of high-resolutionseismicreflectionprofilesandwell
Hauksson,1990;U.S. GeologicalSurveyand SouthernCalifornia log data. We constructbalancedcrosssectionsand kinematic
EarthquakeCenter(USGS and SCEC) Scientists, 1994].Earth- models that describeactive faulting and folding using fault-
quakefocalmechanisms indicatethat faultingis dominatedby related fold theories[Suppe,1983;Suppeand Medwedeff,1990;
decoupledstrike-slipand thrust motions,either of which is Narr and Suppe,1994]. Our resultsare qualitativelyconsistent
with activethrustfaulting on ramp segmentsbeneaththe Ely-
Copyright1996 by the American GeophysicalUnion. sianPark (SantaMonica) and PalosVerdes trendsproposed
Paper number 95JB03453. by Davis et al. [1989]. We presentnew structuralinterpreta-
0148-0227/96/95 JB-03453505.00 tionsof the Compton-LosAlamitos,Newport-Inglewood,and
8623
8624 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

30' 118 ø
' ' I .. . - ' ' ' ' '• ' ø LosAngeles :- I 0 5 10km
I
Santa
Monica
Mountain's
ß '"'_' .• Riv•
r San Gabriel
I

'
I , I

ß o':':'• Downtown :....:::•...-

....
•......
"
,Los
Angeles
"'• '""'-:::":":•
Elysian
River
:Whittier Narrows
1987 (M=6.0)
34 ø

,.. Coyote
Hills

Malibu
1989 (341=5.0)

Santa Ana"'-?-'::.
River '::.'
i:.--:::':.::

Long Beach
1933 (M!=6.3) ß

%%%%%

1994
Northridge
(M=6.7)

Pacific
Ocean r3 • =onshore
fault
( .... -. =onshore
fault
where
concealed
x '• 30'
I • • '"-• =Compton-Los
Alamitos
fold
trend
O••' areal .
L•nlarged -- '•'•x
•x .--.••=offshore
fault
% =oilandgasfield
\

Figure 1. Map of the Los Angelesbasinwith major structuraltrends and tracesof geologiccrosssections
X-X' and Y-Y'. Historic, moderate-sizeearthquakesare shownby lower hemispherefocal mechanismswith
compressionalquadrants shaded. These include the 1933 Long Beach strike-slip earthquake along the
Newport-Inglewoodtrend [Hauksson,1987;WoodwardClydeConsultants, 1979]and the 1987Whittier Nar-
rows, 1989 Malibu [Hauksson,1990;Haukssonand Jones,1989], and 1994 Northridge(inset) [USGS and
SCEC, 1994] blind thrust events.Fault tracesfrom Ziony and Jones[1989]. T-W-B, Torrance-Wilmington-
Belmont trend;NT, Norwalk trend; PVF, PalosVerdes fault; WE, Whittier fault. Bathymetriccontourinterval
equals50 m to depth of 100 m and 100 m to maximumdepth.

SouthernElysian Park trendsthat are basedon the geometry
of folded syntectonicstrata imagedin seismicreflectionpro-
files and penetratedby wells. Our analysesof syntectonicfold
geometriesyieldsPlioceneand Quaternaryslip rateson active
blind-thrustfaults,usingthe methodsof Suppeet al. [1992]and
Shawand Suppe[1994].In addition,we map activefold trends
through the basin to define the lateral extent and geometric
segmentationof the blind-thrust ramps. Finally, we use slip
rates and fault mapsto estimatepotential earthquakemagni-
tudesand repeat timesfor eventson blind-thrustfaults in the
Los Angeles basin, under the scenariothat these faults are
presentlyactive.
Growth Fault-Bend Folding
Above Thrust Ramps
Although blind-thrustfaults lack direct surfacebreaks,they
mayhavenear-surfaceexpressions in the form of overlyingfold
trends that are known to grow or uplift during large earth-
quakes [Steinand Yeats, 1989; Shaw and Suppe,1994]. Slip
throughbendsin blind thrust faults is accommodatedby fold-
ing of the overridingblock [Rich, 1934; Suppe,1983]. These
fault-relatedfolds are commonin the brittle crust,where they
grow by kink band migrationwith deformationof the overrid-
ing blocklocalizedalong"activeaxial surfaces"that are pinned
to fault bends(Figure2). "Inactiveaxialsurfaces"form at fault
bendsand are translatedaway from the active axial surfaces
duringprogressivefault slip.Together,activeand inactiveaxial
surfacesboundfolded panelsof rock,or kink bands,that widen
with progressivefault slip. Types of folds above blind-thrust
faultsincludefault-bendfolds[Suppe,1983],fault propagation
folds[SuppeandMedwedeff,
1990],anddrapefoldsor "base-
ment-involved" structures[Rodgers,1987; Narr and Suppe,
1994].Thesefault-bendfoldingmechanisms are alsowell doc-
umented in detailed case studiesfor strike-slip and normal
faults,includingboth faultswith sharpbendsand continuously
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8625

pre-growth
' /

growth
triangles

growth

..............................
pre-growth
pre-growth
faultslit, D

Figure 2. Kinematicdevelopmentof a growthfault-bendfold after Suppeet al. [1992].(a) A thrustramp in

undeformedstrata.(b) Fault slipcausesfoldingof the hangingwall blockalongactiveaxialsurfacesA and B
that are pinnedto fault bends.InactiveaxialsurfacesA' andB' form at fault bendsand are passivelytranslated
awayfrom activeaxialsurfacesby slip.Kink bandwidths(A-A', B-B') measuredalongbeddingequalslip on
the underlyingfault segment.The differencein kink band widths reflectsslip consumedin folding. (c)
Progressive fault slip widenskink bands,which narrowupwardin the growthsection(growthtriangles);
surfacestrataare deformedat pointslabeledP. Kink bandwidthsof growthhorizonsreflectthe amountof
fault dip-slip since their deposition.The inflectionsin the inactive axial surfacesA' and B' mark the
boundariesbetweenpregrowthandgrowth(syntectonic) sections.(d) Fault slipon the lowerdecollementand
ramp is greaterthan ramp width. FormerlyinactiveaxialsurfaceA' becomespinnedto the upper fault bend
at depthandwith axialsurfaceA foldsnear-surface growthsedimentsat pointslabeledP. Formerlyactiveaxial
surfaceB becomesinactiveas it is releasedfrom the upper fault bend and is translatedabovethe upper
decollement.At this stageof folding,kink band widthsA-A' and B-B' provideonly minimumestimatesof
dip-slipon the underlyingfault segments.

curved surfaces[Medwedeff,1989, 1992; Mount et al., 1990; growth

triangle
Xiao and Suppe,1992;Jordanet al., 1993;Shawet al., 1994a].
Sedimentsthat are depositedover activefault-relatedfolds •Y
(syntectonicor growth sediments)provide a decipherable growth
recordof fold growthand fault slip[Suppeet al., 1992].Growth
strata are folded as they pass through active axial surfaces
abovefault bends(Figure 2). In compressive fault-bendfolds •-X
the width of the dippingpanel of eachgrowthhorizonis within
10% of the fault dip slip sincethe underlyingunit was depo- pre-growth
sitionfor mostfault geometries[Suppeet al., 1992].Thus limb
width generallyprovidesan accurate,quantitativeestimateof
fault dip slip. Sedimentsdepositedearly in the slip historyof
the underlyingfault therefore displaya wider kink band than
sedimentsdepositedlater. As a result,growthstrataform dis-
tinctive,upwardlynarrowingkink bandscalled growth trian-
averagefault slip rate =
glesabovebendsin faults(Figure2). Agesand limb widthsof AT
stratigraphicunitswithin growthtrianglesprovideratesof limb Agex-Agey
wideningor fold growth.In casesof simplerampsbetweende-
Figure 3. Model of narrowingupward kink band or growth
collements, thedip-slipcomponent of thefaultsliprateisequalto triangle above a thrust ramp. If the agesof at least two hori-
the changein limb width dividedby the changein the age of zonswithin a growthtriangle are known, then the limb widen-
growthhorizons(Figure3). In casesof morecomplexfault ge- ing rate of the fold (AL/At) canbe determined.In the caseof
ometriesnot involvingdecollements, the fault dip-sliprate is still simple ramps from decollements,the rate of limb widening
generallywithin 10% of thisvalue[Suppeet al., 1992]. equalsthe fault dip-slip rate.
8626 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

Compton- LosAlamitos
18 19 20
Trend NE
1 km
I I

M. Pico Fm.

top L. Pico Fm.

top RepettoFm.•

Figure 4. Enlarged portion of migrated seismicreflectionprofile from Plate lb that imagesa narrowing
upwardkink band, or growthtriangle,alongthe Compton-LosAlamitostrend. We interpretstrataabovethe
inflectionin the inactiveaxial surfaceA', includingthe uppermostRepetto and Pico Formations,as growth
section(Figure 2). Near-surfacedisruptionof reflectorsalong the active axial surfaceA suggests that the
underlyingfault ramp slipped in the Quaternary and may remain active. Overlap and apparent offset of
reflectorsacrossaxialsurfaceA are a resultof incompletemigrationand the obliquityof the profileto the true
dip directionof the fold trend.Adjacentprofilesshowno offsetof shallowreflectors(see Plate1a and Figure
5). Limb widthsof horizonsusedin sliprate calculations are measurementsof the width of dippingreflectors
betweenaxial surfacesA and A' (see Figure 3). The averagevertical exaggerationof the seismicprofile
between 1 and 2 s TWTT is 1.0. Wells are listed in Table 1.

Severalupwardlynarrowingkink bandsare imagedin seis- orientationof the PalosVerdesfault zone (Figure 1). Strike-
mic'reflection profilesacrossthe Compton-LosAlamitos and slip motion out of the plane of our sectionalongthesezones
SouthernElysianPark trendsin the Los Angelesbasin(Plate shouldtherefore have a negligibleeffecton our area calcula-
1 and Figures4 and 5 and Table 1). We interpret thesestruc- tions.Our structuralinterpretationdoes,however,haveimpli-
tures as growthfolds aboveblind-thrustfaults.No alternative cationsfor the subsurfacegeometriesof complexzoneswhere
originsfor suchgrowthstructuresare known.Using fault-bend coevalthrust and strike-slipfaults interact.
fold theory, we constructbalanced geologic cross sections
(Plate 1) and modelsthat describeour interpretationsof major
foldsand faultsin the region.The crosssectionsintegratedata
Active Blind-Thrust Faulting and Folding
from high-resolutionseismicreflection profiles,well logs, re- Compton-Los A!amitos Trend
gional seismicity,and surfacegeology.The sectionsare area- The Compton-LosAlamitostrend extendsthroughthe cen-
balancedand restore kinematicallyto a reasonablestate for ter of the Los Angelesbasin,roughlyparallel to the Newport-
the early Pliocene,prior to the initiation of thrusting(Plate Inglewoodtrend (Figure 1). Featuresnear the Compton-Los
lb). In addition,sectionY-Y' was modeledagainstobserved Alamitostrend were previouslyinterpretedasconcealed,near-
gravity anomaliesand comparedfavorablyusing a basement surfacefaults with motion of probable late Quaternary age
density of 2.73g/cm 3andstratadensities between2.20and2.70 [Ziony and Jones, 1987; Jennings,1992]. In contrast, high-
g/cm 3 [Henderson, 1993]. resolutionseismicreflectionprofilesacrossthe trend image a
Besidesthe blind-thrust faults in the Los Angeles basin, northeast dipping monoclinal fold limb that includes de-
there are alsoseveralzonesof strike-slipseismicityand surface formed,near-surfacehorizons(Figure 4). Folded,but contin-
faulting, includingthe Newport-Inglewoodand PalosVerdes uous and coherent seismic reflectors across the trend confirm
trends[Hauksson,1990; Wright,1991].These zonesof strike- Quaternary deformation. The continuityof these reflectors,
slipmotionare compatiblewith our structuralsolutionsand do however,precludesa high-anglesurfacefault with large dis-
not invalidate our area restoration. Documented Pliocene and placementalongthe trend (Figure5). Smallerfaults,whichare
Quaternary strike slip on the Newport-Inglewoodtrend is unresolvableon the seismicdata, may occur along the trend
small(<3 kin) [Yerkeset al., 1965;Wright,1991],and its trace and accommodatefolding strainsor be inheritedfrom earlier
is essentiallynormalto our sectionplane,similarto the general tectonism[Daviset al., 1989].
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8627

Compton- Los Alamitos .

The Compton-Los Alamitos fold limb is separated from
NE
, 0.5km • Trend horizontalstrataby synclinal
(A) andanticlinal(A') axialsur-
0.0
faces.At shallowdepths,the kink band narrowsupward into
Plioceneand Quaternarystrata (Plate 1 and Figure 4), which
indicatesfoldingby kink-bandmigration(seeFigure 2). Based
on this distinctivefold geometry,we interpret the Compton-
Los Alamitos trend as an activegrowthtrianglein a fault-bend
fold (Figure 2) that overliesthe Compton blind-thrustramp.
However, at least two topologicallydistinct fault geometries
are capableof producingthisfold (Figure 6). In the fault-bend
fold model of Figure 6a, the thrust containsa concave-upward
1.0
bend from decollementto ramp at the synclinalaxial surface
A. Alternatively,the Compton ramp may be a backthrustin a
structuralwedge [Medwedeff,1992] above a deep, southwest
dipping thrust systemas depicted in Figure 6b. We cannot
Figure 5. A migrated seismicreflection profile that images distinguishbetweenthesetwo possiblefault shapesand their
the shallowportion of the Compton-LosAlamitos growthtri- depthsbased only on the shallowgeometry of the Compton-
anglenear the San Gabriel River (Figure 1). Folded, but con- Los Alamitos fold. We favor the simple decollement-ramp
tinuous and coherent seismic reflectors near the surface indi- solution on the sections in Plate 1 and kinematic model in
cate Quaternary activity along the trend; however, they Figure 7 basedon additional informationsuggestinga linkage
Precludeinterpretation of the axialsurface(A; Plate1 and between the Compton ramp and thrusts in the Elysian Park
Figure 4) as a high-anglesurfacefault with large displacement.
trend. This linkage is discussedin the "map view analysis"
Stratigraphicmarkers tied from well control in Plate 1 and section.
Figure 4 usingcheckshotvelocities.

Table 1. Wells used in Cross Sections X-X' and Y-Y'

Well Operator Name TD Year S/T/R

CrossSectionX-X' (Plate la)

1 Shell Bryant 3 7221 ft 1925 1/5s/12w
2 Texaco BryantEstate1 11781ft 1956 1/5s712w
3 Vaughn & Assoc. J. Harada 1 4828 ft 1957 20/4s/11w
4 Marathon G.B. Miller 1 6079 ft 1928 9/4s/11w
5 Texaco Clanton 1 12561 ft 1961 28/3s/11w
6 McKeon & Assoc. Carmentia 1 9157 ft 1938 21/3s/11w
7 Chevron Ravera Community 1 13133 ft 1956 21/3s/11w
8 Texaco McNalleyA1 9000 ft 1941 22/3s/11w
9 Chevron Behnke 1 10273 ft 1946 14/3s/11w
10 Hathaway La Mirada 1 5831 ft 1948 10/3s/11w
CrossSectionY-Y' (Plate lb)
1 SecurityHoldings. Sepuiveda
1 1500ft 1941 22/5s/14w
2 San Pedro San Pedro 1 850 ft 1895 14/5s/14w
3 S. Cal. Drilling Co. Buckhard l 1440 ft 1937 2/5s/14w
4 Petroleum Sec. Co. Palos Verdes 1 2521 ft 1926 36/4s/14w
5 Palos Verdes Co. Palos Verdes 1 4498 ft 1922 36/4s/14w
6 McAdams Exp. PalosVerdes 1 4496 ft 1935 31/4s/13w
7 John Schumacher Dines 1-31 3980 ft 1944 31/4s/13w
8 Superior Torrance 66 5783 ft 1957 24/4s/14w
9 ARCO Kleinmeyer 1 6623 ft 1936 20/4s/13w
10 Shell Oil Delores 1 3751 ft 1924 20/4s/13w
11 J.S. Hull Hull 2 4012 ft 1936 20/4s/13w
12 Neaves Pet. Co. Neaves Watson 2 4257 ft 1954 20/4s/13w
13 F.A. Black F.D. Black 1 4886 ft 1924 17/4s/13w
14 Rio Grande Watson 1 6297 ft 1929 17/4s/13w
15 Selbar Oil Watson 1 5653 ft 1944 17/4s/13w
16 Airways
Petroleum Santa
Susana
i 8335
ft 1950 16/4s/13w
17 Shell Oil Virginia 1 3362 ft 1933 12/4s/13w
18 ARCO Dominquez Ext. 1 6954 ft 1936 2/4s/13w
19 O.F. Darling Darling 1 8466 ft 1944 35/3s/13w
20 G.L. Clayton Clayton 1 6570 ft 1933 31/3s/12w
21 Petroleum Sec. Co. Bandini 1 5805 ft 1926 18/2s/12w
22 Bradford Bishop Santa Fe 1 9205 ft 1962 21/2s/12w
23 Chansler-Weston Oil Bandini 2 12930 ft 1945 21/2s/12w

Well locationsand data from Texaco USA and CaliforniaDivisionof Oil and Gas [1982] S/T/R is
section/township/range.
8628 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

Compton- Los Alamitos Trend ern border of the centralLosAngelesbasin(Figure 1) [Hauks-

son, 1987, 1990]. The seismicityextendsto a depth of approx-
growthtriangle• imatel•17kmalonga series
of steeply
dipping
faultplanes.
To
the northeast,the Compton thrust rises upward beneath the
growth Compton-Los Alamitos fold and approachesthe Newport-
Inglewoodtrend at depth (Plate 1). If the Compton thrust
rampsupward from a depth of 17 km or less,then it probably
pre-growth intersectsthe seismogenicportion of the Newport-Inglewood

Compton
Ramp
Compton
Ramp • >•
"•'"':
........
"•
::':'"
fault
.... ?p
?.--.•
•...•i
........
fault zone [Hauksson,1987]. Such an intersectionwould pro-
duce a complexzone of coeval dip slip and offset strike-slip
faults.The kinematiccompatibilityof the two typesof faultsis
ensuredbecause
the intersection
of the faultsis nearlyhori-
zontal and parallel to the Newport-Inglewoodslip vector.
CrosssectionsX-X' and Y-Y' (Plate 1) showthe Compton
thrustramp intersectingand offsettingthe Newport-Inglewood
fault zone at depthsof 8 to 10 km. Dip slip on the Compton
thrusthas translatedthe hangingwall portion of the Newport-

g"':..].
"']'
.•: :.i:::.•_;c•gmr;tWtohn
Ramp Inglewood fault zone about 4 km to the southwest.The foot-
wall segmentof the Newport-Inglewoodfault zone remainsto
the northeast,nearwhere the Comptonthrust ramp risesfrom
•ar• Decoil•
'ment
' a horizontal detachmentbeneaththe basin.Thickeningstrata
to the northeast acrossthe trend suggestthat the Newport-
Figure 6. Alternative modelsfor the fault geomet• beneath Inglewoodfault initiatedas a late Miocene to early Pliocene
the Compton-LosAlamitos trend. (a) Simple decollement- growthnormal fault that was reactivatedby strike-slipmotion
ramp fault geomet•, where the Compton ramp risesfrom a (Plate 1). We speculatethat duringthe Pliocenea decollement
horizontaldecollement.(b) Wedge-faultgeomet•, where the in the central Los Angelesbasinramped upward at the preex-
Compton ramp is a backthrustsabove a horizontal decolle- istingnormal fault, forming the Compton blind-thrustramp.
ment and inclined ramp segment. The postulated offset of the Newport-Inglewoodzone at
depth by the Compton thrust obviouslycould not prohibit
activestrike-slipfaulting.If the presentseismogenic
portionof
If the Compton thrust systemincludes a near-horizontal the Newport-Inglewoodfault zone extendsbelow the thrust
decollementin either the simple decollement-rampor struc- ramp without significantoffset,then the hangingwall and foot-
tural wedge scenarios,then the Compton ramp strikesnorth- wall portions of the strike-slipzone may include originally
west-southeast and dipsto the northeastbetween20ø and 25ø, separatefaultsthat are nowplacedin proximityby the Comp-
parallelto the overlyingfold limb (Plate 1 and Figure 6). Total ton thrust.Alternatively,an offsetof the Newport-Inglewood
dip slipon thefaultrampis roughlyequalto the kinkband fault zone as depictedin the crosssectionscould producean
width of the overlyingCompton-LosAlamitosfold trend (Fig- offsetof strike-slipseismicitywith greaterfocal depthsfoundto
ure 7), whichis about4 km alongthe centerof the trend (Plate the northeast[Hauksson,1987,1990].This suggests that deep-
1 and Figure4). On the southwestsideof the trend, the major er-sourced,strike-slipearthquakesare possiblenortheastof
inflectionpoint of the inactiveanticlinalaxial surface,4' (Fig- the surfacetrace of the Newport-Inglewoodzone where it is
ure 4) marksthe sedimentsdepositedat the initiationof fault- offsetby the Compton thrust.
ing becausethe kink band has a constantwidth at greater The seismicreflectionprofilesavailablefor our studyextend
depth [Suppeet al., 1992] (Figure 2). Using well control and onlyto the southwestern boundaryof the Newport-Inglewood
velocityprofilesbasedon checkshot surveys,we identify this trend and therefore do not define the southwestern extent of
horizonto be nearthe topof the PlioceneRepettoFormation, the Compton blind-thrust ramp. Additional bends in the
which is estimated to be approximately2.5 Myr old [Blake, Compton ramp, which could includeflatteningof the ramp to
1991]. Basedon the agesand correctedlimb widthsof the top a decollementor termination of the thrust into a fault propa-
Repetto and lower Pico horizonsin the kink bandand assum- gationfold, wouldproduceactivcfoldingand kink bandwidths
ing that the fold trend remainsactive(Figure 5), we calculate comparableto the 4 km of displacementon the thrust.No such
a Pliocencand Quaternaryfault dip-sliprate of about 1.4 _+0.4 activefolding is evidentalongor to the northeastof the New-
mm/yr on the Comptonthrust ramp (Figure 8). Although the port-Inglewoodtrend (Platc 1). Therefore we interpret the
stratigraphichorizonsusedin our calculationsappear region- Comptonramp to extendsouthwestof the Newport-Inglewood
ally time transgressive [Wright,1991], they generallyapproxi- trend under the western shelf of the Los Angelesbasin.
mate time lines (scismicsequenceboundariesor reflectors)
over at least portions of the Compton-LosAlamitos trend Torrance-Wilmington-Belmont and Palos Vetdes Trends
(Figure4). Thereforelackingmorepreciseagecontrol,we use The Torrance-Wilmington-Belmont(TWB) structure is a
publishedagesof uppermostRepetto and lower Pico unitsto large, northwest-southeasttrending anticlinorium on the
calculateslip rates. southwesternmargin of the central Los Angeles basin.The
TWB trend hasroughlythe samelateral extent as the mapped
Interaction of the Compton Thrust portion of the Compton-LosAlamitos fold (Figure 1). The
and Newport-Inglewood Trend TWB anticlinoriumis characterizedby Miocene to early Plio-
The Newport-Inglewood trend is a zoneof recentstrike-slip cene growth normal faulting (Plate 1) and Pliocene(Repet-
seismicitythat extendsmore than 50 km alongthe southwest- tian) contractilefolding[Wright,1991].However,regionalseis-
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8631

Compton-faults
Los
incipient
Alamitos
.an•d
axial
Trend
surfaces
..... _--'•1
m .
growth

ACo
ptm
on
Thrust
Ramp-.%
_ p p •f ipp'
gp
anels
D • surface
relief
pre-
B "t::":'l:::':'•*•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•':'•
.........
':•'
...............................
........
':'
i:::'
...........
1
...............
':::-:',-
II/ ''!'"."
IIICentralBasinDecollement '"."':'
....................................
ß
.............
':::.:::'
.................................
-.........................................
,:;:;:, "-.......
i•i::i::!•::::i::::!::!!•iii!i!i:!..;•i
.:!::...:-:'::l:::•!::i::!ii::i::iiiii:•:•
.......................
..:..•. i '":1;:'
......
'•'::•!i:::¾1iiiii!ii!iiiiiii
iii
iliiii
?:!i•.
//

C }•;•i•[i5•}•75•i!•5•55•5•i[5•i•J•!•!5
•

......................................................................................................................
'i':"•'"'i'"'•
...........

Figure 7. A balancedkinematicmodelof the developmentof the ComptonLosAlamitostrend. (a) Incip-

ient faultsand axialsurfacesin undeformedstrata.(b) Slip on the CentralBasindecollementand Compton
rampgenerates
kinkbandsin overlying
strata.(c) Kinkbandinterference
generates
a •oldlimbcomposed
of
multiple dip domains.(d) Progressive slipwidensthe dip domainthat is parallel to the maximumdip of the
Comptonramp.The kink bandnarrowsupwardinto syntectonic (growth)strata.(e) A decreasein deposition
rate relativeto fault sliprate producessurfacerelief of the fold. (f) An increasein depositionrate relativeto
fault sliprate producesa distinctnarrowingupwardkink bandabovethe Comptonthrustramp and drapeover
thepreexisting
relief(seePlate1 andFigure4). Thekinkbandisboundbyactiveaxialsurface
A andtwo
inactive axial surfacesA' and A", which are a result of the two fault bends.

micity
[Hauksson,
1990]
andstructural
relief
ofpostrifting
late folding along the Compton-LosAlamitos trend if a simple
Plioceneand Quaternaryhorizonssuggestpresentactivitybe- decollement-rampgeometryis used.
neath the fold trend. Palos Verdes is an anticlinal uplift southwestof the TWB
Daviset al. [1989] proposedthat the Torrance-Wilmington- trend that is coredby MesozoicCatalina Schistand overlainby
Belmont (TWB) trend is folded above active blind-thrust Miocene marine rocks. Quaternary uplift of the anticline is
faults. Similarly,we speculatethat the anticlinaltrend may be recordedby a seriesof marine terraces,eachcarvedby coastal
folded by displacementalong the Compton thrust system wave action at paleo-sealevel [Woodringet al., 1946]. The
(Plate lb). We interpret structuralrelief of the postrift top uppermostterracesare now about 400 m above sea level, and
Repettoand lower Picohorizons(e.g.,betweenwells5 and 8, studies suggest verticalupliftratesof 0.2 to 0.8 mm/yr,with
Plate lb) to be causedby anticlinalfoldingabovethe top of the mostresultsabout0.3 to 0.4 mm/yr [Lajoieet al., 1979;Bryant,
Comptonrampasit flattensbelowthe TWB trendto a near 1987; Ponti, 1989; McNeilan et al., 1996]. The anticline is
horizontal decollement or moreshallowly dippingrampseg- boundedto the northeastby the PalosVerdesfault zone [Woo-
ment. Although there is no direct geologicevidencefor the dringet al., 1946], which extendsfor more than 100 km from
depth to the upper fault bend, the depth of faulting beneath Santa Monica Bay in the northwestto Lasuen Knoll in the
the central basin and the potential offset zone of strike-slip south [Nardin and Henyey,1978]. Studieshave documented
seismicityalong the Newport-Inglewood trend [Hauksson, both dip separationand strikeslipalongvariousportionsof the
1990]are consistent with a depthto the upperbendof about5 Palos Verdes fault zone. Yerkeset al. [1965] usedwell pene-
km (Platelb). Flattening of thethrustrampbeneaththeTWB trationsto define a southwestdippingsegmentof the onshore
trend definesthe minimumwidth of the Comptonthrustramp Palos Verdes fault with about 1.8 km of vertical separation
at approximately20 km Additional thrust faults may lie be- (southwestside up) of the top basementschist.In the Los
neath and southwestof the Comptonramp [Daviset al., 1989], Angeles Outer Harbor, McNeilan et al. [1996] have docu-
mostlikely beneaththe TWB trend. Our sectionsdemonstrate, mented a shallow,nearly vertical Palos Verdes fault segment
however, that additional faults are not required to explain with a ratio of strikeslip to dip slipbetween7:1 and 8:1. Local
8632 SHAW AND SUPPE:
Compton Thrust Ramp
average slip rate
-- 0.0014 + 0.0004 m/yr
I
1 - top Repetto
- top lower Pico
S = surface
ß !
0 1 age0Via)
fault slip = (limb width ßobliquecorrection)-
(slip on Las Cienegasthrust)
= (L ß 0.92) - (570 m)
Figure 8. A plot of fault slipversusthe ageof the horizonsin
the Compton-LosAlamitos trend. Fault slip is derivedfrom
limb widths of horizons(Figure 3), which were measuredin
Figure 4 and have been correctedfor the obliquityof section
Y-Y' to the regional dip direction (Figure 1). Slip on the
shallowLasCienegasthrustcontributeswidthto the Compton-
Los Alamitos trend alongsectionY-Y'; thereforethis shallow
slipis removedfrom the kink bandwidthsto estimatethe slip
rate on the Comptonthrustramp.The slopeof the bestfit line
throughthe datasuggests a 0.0014+_0.0004m/yrPlioceneand
Quaternaryslip rate on the Comptonthrustramp. Age of the
top RepettohorizonfromBlake[1991],with the upperlimit of
range definedby the youngestreported age of Repetto For-
mation from Davis et al. [1989], which is basedon calcareous
nannoplankton biostratigraphy [Warren,1980]calibratedto the
timescaleof Haq [1984].Age and rangefor the top Lower Pico
horizon are from Blake [1991]. Range of slip valuesderived
from estimatesof limb widths in the Compton-LosAlamitos
trend,whichwe suggestare valid to within +0.5 km basedon
the qualityof the seismicreflectionimage(Figure4).
uplift of the anticlinoriumis likely causedby the dip-slipcom-
ponent of fault motion, which may occuras obliqueslip in a
restrainingbend [Ward and Valensise,1994] alongthe princi-
pallystrike-slipPalosVerdesfault system[Nardinand Henyey,
1978;McNeilan et al., 1996].Alternatively,Davis et al. [1989]
depictthe PalosVerdes anticlinoriumas a fault propagation
fold abovea southwestdippingblind thrust,where the Palos
Verdes fault is a folded Miocene to early Plioceneage normal
fault.
The PalosVerdes anticlineis cored by Catalina Schistand
boundedby a 20ø to 30ø dippingsouthwestlimb and a steepto
overturnednortheastlimb of Miocenecoverrocks[Woodringet
al., 1946].This asymmetric,northeastvergentgeometryof the
anticlinoriumis consistentwith developmentof PalosVerdes
abovea southwestdippingramp with reverse-obliqueor pure
reversedisplacement[Rodgers,1987;Daviset al., 1989;Suppe
and Medwedeff,1990; Ward and Valensise,1994]. This ramp
may representan inclinedportion of the PalosVerdes fault
(Figure 9a), whichcouldact as a backthrustabovethe Comp-
ton blind thrust forming a structuralwedgebeneaththe anti-
clinorium[Medwedeff,1992].Alternatively,the ramp beneath
the anticline may be distinctfrom a nearly vertical and pre-
dominantlystrike-slipPalosVerdesfault muchlike that which
LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS
is documentedin the Los AngelesOuter Harbor [McNeilanet
al., 1996].In this latter scenario,the nearlyverticalPalosVer-
desfault may be locallyoffsetby the Comptonramp (Figure
9b), similarto the proposedinteractionbetweenthe Newport-
Inglewoodand Compton faults (Plate 1). Alternatively,the
Comptonramp could occur deeper than we depictin Plate 1
and Figure9 andlie at the baseof the activePalosVerdesfault
zone.
Due to these uncertaintiesin the geometriesof the Palos
Verdesand Comptonfaultsat depth,we depictin sectionY-Y'
a vertical,predominantlystrike-slipPalosVerdes fault aswell
as a southwestdippingramp beneaththe anticlinoriumthat is
linked to the Comptonramp (Plate lb and Figure9c). The 4
km of dip slip on the Compton thrust ramp producesthe 1.8
km of vertical separationon basementacrossthe southwest
dippingramp asobservedin well data [Yerkeset al., 1965].We
predict,basedon fault-bendfold theory[Suppe,1983],that the
slip rate on the Compton thrust (1.4 + 0.4 mm/yr) could
contribute about 1.3 + 0.4 mm/yr of dip-slip motion on the
fault beneaththe anticlinoriumbasedon the ramp geometry
depictedin Platelb andFigure9c.Assuming
rigid-block
trans-
lation abovethe ramp, this dip-slip componentshoulduplift
the anticlineat a rate of about0.7 _+0.2 mm/yr(Figure9). This
rate lies partiallywithin the 0.2 to 0.8 mm/yr range of uplift
ratesat PalosVerdesfor the last 200 and 450 kyr, respectively,
that were determinedfrom dated marine terraces[Lajoieet al.,
1979].However, the 0.7 + 0.2 mm/yr value is greaterthan the
mostcommonlyreported0.3 to 0.4 mm/yr uplift rates[Bryant,
1987;Ponti, 1989;McNeilan et al., 1996].This discrepancy may
be due to incompleteor incorrect fault geometries,errors in
our calculatedslip rate for the Compton thrust, and/or our
assumptionof rigid-blocktranslationabovethe ramp, which
does not accountfor isostaticcompensationor relaxationof
the crust.
Southern Elysian Park Trend
The central Los Angelesbasinis boundedto the northeast
by a seriesof foldsthat havebeen groupedaspart of the Santa
Monica Mountainsanticlinoriumthat overliesthe ElysianPark
thrust system[Daviset al., 1989]. However, the Santa Monica
Mountains trend east-west;whereas,many of the folds north-
east of the Los Angeles basin trend northwest-southeast.
Therefore the two fold trends may lie above separatefault
systems[Dolan et al., 1995]. In this discussion,
we refer to the
northwest-southeast trendingfoldsnortheastof the LosAnge-
lesbasinasthe ElysianPark trend, usingthe terminologyfrom
the underlyingthrustsystemof Daviset al. [1989](Figure 1).
Regionalseismicityindicatesthat the ElysianPark trend is
underlainby activeblind faults, includingthe fault ramp that
producedthe 1987 Whittier Narrows (M - 6.0) earthquake
[Haukssonand Jones,1989] (Figure 1). Davis et al. [1989]
describedthe trend as a seriesof fault propagationfolds de-
velopedabovethe ElysianPark thrustsystem.High-resolution
seismicreflectionprofilesavailablein our studyindicatethat
the southwesternmargin of the trend containsat least two
distinctstructurallevelsof folds and faults (Plate 1). Shallow
structuresincludea trend of symmetricfoldsthat providetraps
for oil fieldsin the CoyoteHills (Figure 1 and Plate la). We
interpretthe shallowstructureof the SouthernElysianPark
trend imaged in Plate la as a fault-bendfold [Suppe,1983]
abovethe Coyoteblind-thrustfault. To the northwest,a series
of steep, narrow kink bands extendsalong the southwestern
boundaryof the ElysianPark trend. These kink bandsconsist
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8633

A Palos
Verdes B Palos Verdes

'::ii!iil
!!111•i•iiiiiii•!?::"::!!!'i?
.................:.::......::....fPa/os
Verdes....E.•:u....!.•.
...............................................
.................
•Palos Verdes
Fault

ComptonThrust Ramp
c
Palos Verdes Palos
Verdes
Fault TWB Trend
11 13
I 2 3 -4 7 8 910 415
sea
level

- Qtfu

-*---Tp - Tt
Uplift =
0. 7_-•0.2mm/yr

1.2_+0.4

decollement

deepPalos
Verdes

Figure 9. Alternativeschematicmodelsfor the interactionof the Comptonramp andPalosVerdesfault. (a)

Compton thrust forms a backthrustabovea deep and inclinedPalosVerdes fault, which extendsbelow the
fault intersection.Both faultscontributeslipto the rampbeneathPalosVerdes.(b) Comptonthrustintersects
and offsetsa verticaland predominantlystrike-slipPalosVerdes fault. (c) A portion of the geologiccross
sectionY-Y' (Plate lb) acrossPalosVerdes,whichcontainssomeelementsof both modelsA and B. The
sectionis annotatedwith componentsof fault slip and uplift ratesthat are derivedsolelyfrom the Compton
thrust(Figure8). Calculatedsliprateson the otherfault segments are basedon fault-bendfold theory[Suppe,
1983], which predictsthat fault slip can be consumedin anticlinalfolding and created in synclinalfolding.
Alternative,dashedgeometriesfor the deepPalosVerdesramp do not contributeto the calculatedratesand
would requireadditionalchangesto fault topologyelsewhereon the sectionto be kinematicallyviable.Wells
are listed in Table 1.

of south dipping monoclinallimbs that narrow upward into
Quaternarystrata(Plate lb andFigure10). We interpretthese
kink bandsas fault-bendfoldsabovethe Cienegasblind-thrust
system,which includesa ramp that risesto the southwestand
flattens to decollement in the central basin at about
depth. Growth triangles indicate that displacementson the
Coyote and Las Cienegasthrustsbegan during depositionof
upperPico(late Pliocene)and Quaternarystrata,respectively,
and maycontinuein the present(Plate 1). The shallowdepths
of thesethrust faults may limit their seismogenicpotential on
the margin of the central basin. These faults may, however,
extend deeper to the north where they could pose a greater
threat.
The deeperstructureof the southwestern
ElysianPark trend
consistsof a gentlydipping(15ø-30ø) monoclinallimb sepa-
rated from nearly horizontal strata by subparallelanticlinal
(B) and synclinal(B') axial surfaces(Plate 1). Although
clearlylessdistinctthan the Compton-LosAlamitos trend, the
deep Elysian Park kink band generally narrows upward and
producessignificantstructuralrelief of Plioceneand Quater-
nary strata. Therefore we suggestthat this deep-rooted fold
5 km may also overlie an active blind-thrustramp. Based on the
shapeof the growthtriangle,we interpret the structureas the
front limb of a fault-bendfold (Figure 2) developedby flat-
tening of a deep ramp in the ElysianPark thrust systemto a
decollementin the centralLos Angelesbasin(Plate 1). Based
on fault-bendfold theory [Suppe,1983],the dip of the mono-
clinepredictsa 14ø-24ønorth dippingfault ramp in the Elysian
Park systemsimilarto that depictedby Daviset al. [1989]. Our
fault-bend fold interpretation of the growth structure, how-
ever, predictsthat approximately4 km of slip on this Elysian
Park ramp is translatedto the southalonga detachmentin the
centralLos Angelesbasin(Plate 1). We next presentmapsof
fold trends and compare slip distributionon the underlying
8634 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

I
0.5 km
I
LasCienegas
Trend •
N

Figure 10. A narrowingupward kink band, or growth triangle, along the southwesternside of the Elysian
Park trend (Figure 1), locatednear the San Gabriel River. The fold shapeis consistentwith flatteningof a
shallowfault ramp (Las Cienegasblind thrust) to a horizontaldecollementin the basin.The inflectionpoint
in the axial surfaceC' marksthe initiation of faulting in the Quaternary(see Figure 2).

fault segmentsto demonstratea possiblelinkage betweenthe An axial surfacemap of the Compton-LosAlamitos trend
ElysianPark and Comptonthrustrampsacrossthe centralLos (kink bandA-A") indicatesthat the fold and underlyingComp-
Angelesbasin. ton ramp extend from the Baldwin Hills more than 40 km
southeastto at least the Santa Ana River (Figure 12). The
Map View Analysis width of kink bandA-A", which is an approximatemeasureof
dip slip on the underlyingCompton ramp, rangesfrom 1 km
Fault-bend folds develop above thrust faults to accommo-
near Potrero Gap to about 4 km along the center of the fold
date slip throughfault bends(Figure 2). Anticlinal and syncli- trend. The trend is offset south of the Baldwin Hills at Potrero
hal axial surfacesgenerallybound fold limbs, or kink bands,
Gap into two en echelonfolds. To the southeast,the trend is
whichhavewidthsthat approximatedip slip on the underlying also offset between the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers. The
fault segmentswhere total slip is less than the ramp width
(Figure 2). We suggestthis casefor the Comptonand Elysian southwestflank of the ElysianPark fold hasa trend and extent
Park ramps, becausein both of the overlyingfolds one axial similar to the Compton-LosAlamitos fold within the limits of
surfacedeforms near-surfacestrata; whereasthe paired sur- our seismicreflectioncoverage(Figure 12). The deep fold in
face doesnot (comparekink bandsA-A' and B-B' in Figure2 the ElysianPark trend (B-B') is distinctlyoffset,however,west
and Plate 1). Therefore we can definethe slip distributionson of the SanGabriel River by a discontinuitythat is alsoreflected
the underlyingfault segmentsby mappingaxial surfacesof the in structurecontour maps of Miocene and Pliocenehorizons
Compton-LosAlamitos and Elysian Park trends through our [Wright,1991]. The shallowfolds above the Coyote and Las
grid of seismicreflectionprofiles.To map axialsurfaces,we use Cienegastrends consistof at least three segments,with one
the parallel projectionmethod [Shawand Suppe,1994;Shawet segmentboundaryalso along the San Gabriel River (Figure
al., 1994b],where axial surfacesare projectedparallel to their 12).
tracesin seismicreflectionprofilesto a surfacedatum (Figure Daviset al. [1989]documentedthat the 1987 Whittier Nar-
11). Active axial surfacesare shownthereforenear their likely rows earthquakeruptured a blind ramp segmentbeneaththe
surfacetraces and define the positionsand extentsof blind- Elysian Park fold trend. The southeast-northwest trend of the
thrust rampsbecausethey are pinned at depth to fault bends deepfold trend that we mapped(B-B', Figure 12), however,is
(Figure 2). distinct from the east-weststriking preferred nodal plane of
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8635

Compton
-Los •(•
Alamitos
Trend• •
Southern
Park
Elysian
Trend
'"•Lm'--•' --•Lm'--•' map
datum
c I
A" B =nl
,,

-"•a•• Central
Bastn
Decollement
:;'•x/e•
Pe•
Figure 11. The Compton-LosAlamitosandElysianPark fold trendsare mappedby projectingaxialsurfaces
parallelto their tracesin seismicreflectionprofilesto the surfacedatum[Shawet al., 1994b].This projection
methodyieldskink bandwidthsin mapview(L•) that are equalto fold limb widths(Lc) in sectionsbecause
axial surfacesbisectfold limbsand kink-bandsare boundedby horizontalstrata.L m also equalsdip slip on
the underlyingfault segments,if the inclined fault ramps (Compton, Elysian Park) adjoin a horizontal
decollement(Central Basindecollement).The total slipand long-termsliprate on the Comptonthrustramp
shouldequalthe total slipand sliprate on the CentralBasindecollementif the •o fault segmentsare linked
as shown.

mainshock[HaukssonandJones,1989].If the deepramp of the Thereforewe proposethat thesefault segments,includingthe

ElysianPark systemthat we describecausedthe 1987Whittier
Narrows earthquake,then the trend of the base of the ramp
strikes east-west,whereas the upper horizontal detachment
rises to the southeastand/or the ramp is nonplanar. In con-
trast,the mappedtrendsof the shallowCoyoteand Las Ciene-
gas structuresare locally more east-westtrending than the
mappedcomponentsof the deeper Elysian Park trends.Thus
it is more likely that thrust eventson east-westnodal planes
suchas the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquakeare linked to
the Coyote,Las Cienegas,or similarfold trendsin the Elysian
Park systemrather than to the deep ElysianPark kink band
(B-B') that we depictin Figure 12.
If the deepElysianPark fault ramp is linked to the Compton
thrustby a decollementbeneaththe centralLos Angelesbasin
(Figure 11), then the kink band widthsof the Compton-Los
Alamitostrend (A-A") and southwestern flank of the Elysian
Park trend (B-B') shouldbe nearlyequal alongthe slip direc-
tion. We comparethose kink bandswidths along an inferred
dip-slipdirection that is subparallelto the general northeast-
southwesttrend of the maximum compressivestressdeter-
mined from boreholebreakouts[Mountand Suppe,1992] and
first motion studies[Hauksson,1990]. Over the mappedpor-
tions of the folds, kink band widths of the Compton-Los
Alamitosand ElysianPark trendsagreewell alongthe inferred
slip direction (Figure 13). The only noticeablediscrepancy
between limb widths occurs near the northwest offset of the
Compton-LosAlamitos trend at Potrero Gap, where addi-
tional,unmappedfaultsand foldsmay consumeslip.The kink
band width of the Baldwin Hills segment,however, rapidly
increasesto equal the width of the ElysianPark fold limb near
the northwestern limits of our data.
We suggestthat the roughlyequalwidthsof the ElysianPark
and Compton-LosAlamitoskink bands(A-A" and B-B') and
the fold geometriesimagedin seismicreflectionprofiles(Plate
la) are consistentwith a linkage betweenthe Compton and
Elysian Park ramps as depicted in Plate 1 and Figure 11.
Comptonand ElysianPark rampsand the interveningdecolle-
ment, form a seriesof linked fault segmentsthat we term the
Compton-ElysianPark blind-thrustsystem.Basedon this in-
ferred fault linkage,we can calculatethe averagedip-sliprate
on the ElysianPark ramp usingthe 1.4 _+0.4 mm/yr slip rate
determinedfor the Comptonramp (Figure 8), which should
equal the long-termslip rate Central Basindecollement(Fig-
ure 13). Fault-bendfold theory[Suppe,1983]predictsthat the
total slip and long-term slip rate on the Elysian Park ramp
shouldbe greater than on the Central Basin decollementbe-
causefault slipis consumedin the anticlinalfoldingof stratain
kink band B-B'. Basedon the fault geometrydepictedin Plate
lb, the theory predictsa ratio of dip slip on the ElysianPark
ramp to slip on the decollementof about 1.2:1. Thus we cal-
culate an average,1.7 _+0.4 mm/yr long-termslip rate on the
ElysianPark ramp that is depictedin sectionY-Y' (Plate lb).
We cannot derive the depth to the base of the Compton
ramp and proposeddecollementbeneath the central basin
directlyfrom the fault-bendfold models(Figures6 and 7) or
from the regionalseismicprofiles(Platesla and lb). The ramp
and decollementlie at the baseof the Compton-LosAlamitos
and deep ElysianPark fold trends,whichextendto at least3.2
s of two-waytravel time (Platesla and lb). We estimatethat
this travel time correspondsto a depth of about 5.5 km, based
on an extrapolationfrom well checkshot data in the central
basin. In addition, the lack of surface expressionand well
penetrations of the Compton ramp near the Torrance-
Wilmington-Belmonttrend limits the depth of faulting. The
depth of wells in sectionY-Y' and the minimum dip of the
ramp as definedby the overlyingfold limb indicatesthat the
baseof the Comptonramp is greaterthan 8.5 km depth(Plate
lb) usingthe simpledecollement-ramp structuralmodelshown
in Figure 6a. We depict the base of the Compton ramp and
Central Basin decollement on sections X-X' and Y-Y' at
depthsbetween9.5 and 10.5km basedon theseconsiderations
and our structural interpretationsof the Palos Verdes and
8636 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

118 ø

Whittier Narrows !
1987 (M=6.0)
0 5 10 km
I I I
•"-xBaldwin
Hills
?

• ..

34 ø
Las Cienegas
•, .
Kink Bands

\
•.•.::•-.
%-

x
øffset
x'•-"•
South Coyote
pOtrero
offset
Gap .-..
..........
ß
Kink Band
..........

CoyoteHills
.:.

foldoffset

\ \\\\
\ \\NN •.••'•'= Active
Axial
Surface
\

•'•'••= Inactive
Axial
Surface
(symbolsmark control points
t from seismicreflectionprofiles)

Figure 12. A parallelprojectionaxialsurfacemapof fold trendsaroundthe centralLosAngelesbasin.The

Compton-Los Alamitoskinkband(A-A") overliesthe Comptonblind-thrust ramp,whichdipsto thenortheast
(seePlate1). The southflankof the ElysianParktrendconsists of twolevelsof faultingandfolding:a deep
kinkband(B-B') abovea decollement in the centralbasinthat isjoinedto the northeastby the ElysianPark
thrust ramp, and shallowkink bandsabovethe Las Cienegasand Coyoteblind thrusts.Kink band widths
approximatedip-slipmagnitudeson the underlyingfault segments.Offsetsof the fold trendsoverliefault
discontinuities
that definegeometricsegmentation of the underlying fault ramps,whichmayaffectrupture
areas.S, inferred slip direction;LAR, Los AngelesRiver; SGR, San Gabriel River; SAR, SantaAna River.
X-X' and Y-Y' marktracesof the crosssections
in Plate 1. Referto FigureI for additionalsymbols.

Newport-Inglewoodtrends.We considerit plausible,however, the underlyingblind thrusts.Nevertheless,uplift and near-

that the ramp liesat greaterdepth,possiblyasdeepasthe base surfacefoldingof imagedhorizonsindicatethat the underlying
of the seismogeniccrust at more than 17 km. faultsslippedin the late Quaternaryand may be active.We
cannotdiscountthat a portion of this slip occursaseismically.
Earthquake Hazards of Blind-Thrust Faults However,the lackof definedcreepalongoverlyingfold trends,
Recent blind-thrust earthquakes, including the 1994 whichcrosscutnumerousculturalfeatures,suggests that slip
Northridge(M = 6.7) and 1987Whittier Narrows(M - 6.0) may occurepisodically.Furthermore, the orientationsof fault
events,demonstratedthe dangerouspotentialof ruptureson planesthat we defined are also somewhatsimilar to the orien-
blind-thrustfaults near the Los Angeles metropolitanarea tationsof preferrednodal planesfor blind-thrusteventsin the
[USGSand SCEC Scientists, 1994;Hauksson andJones,1989]. area. Therefore we suggestthat segmentsof the Compton-
In the precedingsections,we definedblind-thrustfaults in the Elysian Park blind-thrustsystemmay generatelarge earth-
Los Angelesbasin beneath the Elysian Park, Compton-Los quakesand explorethis possibility.
Alamitos, Torrance-Wilmington-Belmont,and Palos Verdes To estimate the earthquake potential of the Compton-
trends(Plate lb). The seismicreflectiondata we usedcannot ElysianPark thrustsystem,we definefault sizeand geometric
resolveHolocene strata and therefore very recent activityon segmentation usingthe axialsurfacemap of the overlyingfold
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8637

Axial Surface Map

Baldwin Hills

SouthernElysian Park Trend

symbolsmark controlpoints

Lateral Slip Distribution

)00 rn

ComptonThrustRamp
In

m•
.----------•__ CentralBasin[
5000
Overlay '•••'• 0In
Figure 13. (top) A parallelprojectionaxial surfacemap (from Figure 12) of the Compton-LosAlamitos
trend and SouthernElysianPark trend reveals(bottom) the lateral-slipdistributionon the Comptonthrust
rampandCentralBasindecollement.Kink bandwidthson the mapare measuredin the inferredslipdirection
andplottedbelow.A directcomparison of slipon the ComptonrampandCentralBasindecollement(overlay)
showsthat lateral-slipdistributionon the two fault segmentsmatchescloselythroughoutmost of the fault
length,suggestingthat the two fault segmentsmay be linked (see Figure 11).

trendspresentedin Figure 12. Fault areasbetween segment
boundariesare then usedthroughempiricalrelationshipsbe-
tweenearthquakemagnitudeand rupturearea [Wellsand Cop-
persmith,1994]to predictthe sizesof future blind-thrustevents
around the central Los Angelesbasin.
Lateral or obliquefaultsand other discontinuitiescanoffset
thrust rampsforming geometricsegmentboundariesthat may
limit rupture areas and, therefore, the sizesof earthquakes
(Figure 14). Lateral faultsappearto have segmenteda blind-
thrust ramp in the central California Coast Ranges, limiting
the area that rupturedin eachof 1982(M = 5.4) New Idria,
1983 (M = 6.5) Coalinga,and 1985 (M -- 6.1) Kettleman
Hills earthquakes[SteinandEkstrom,1992].Fortunately,these
lateral and oblique ramps are often clearly reflected in the
shapesof overlying, near-surfacefold trends (Figure 14).
Thereforewe candefinepossiblesegmentboundariesof blind
thrustsin the Los Angelesbasinby recognizingoffsetsof fold
trendsin axial surfacemaps(Figures11 and 14).
Two distinctoffsetsof the Compton-LosAlamitos trend in
map view define geometricsegmentboundariesof the under-
lyingComptonthrustramp (Figure 15). At PotreroGap south
of the BaldwinHills, the Compton-LosAlamitostrend narrows
abruptlyand is offset.This disruptionof the fold trend prob-
ablyoverliesa lateral ramp or otherfault discontinuity(Figure
14) that causedlocal slip gradientsand may segmentthe un-
derlyingCompton thrust ramp. To the southeast,the Comp-
ton-Los Alamitos trend is also offset between the San Gabriel
and SantaAna Rivers (Figure 15). Similarly,this fold offset
may overlie a fault discontinuitythat segmentsthe underlying
blind-thrustramp. The geometryof the Compton-LosAlami-
tos fold suggests,therefore, that the Compton thrust ramp
consistsof at least three distinctsegments(Central, Baldwin
Hills, and Santa Ana) that may rupture in separateearth-
quakes(Figure 15).
The Central segmentof the Comptonthrustliesbetweenthe
Baldwin Hills and SantaAna segmentsand extendssouthwest-
ward to at least the Torrance-Wilmington-Belmont trend
(Plate lb). The total areaof the Centralsegmentof the Comp-
ton thrustramp,therefore,is at least550 km2 (segment
I,
Figure 15). Using the empiricalrelationshipbetweenrupture
area and magnitudefor thrustand reversefaultsof Wellsand
Coppersmith [1994],
M = 4.33 + 0.90(log RA), (1)
where RA is rupture area (in squarekilometers) and M is
moment magnitude,we estimate that the central segmentof
the Compton ramp is capableof generatingM • 6.8 earth-
quakes.However,higherstressdropsthat are typicalfor south-
ern California earthquakesnot on the San Andreasfault sug-
gest that relation (1) may underestimateearthquakesize by
about0.2dyncm2 [Dolanetal., 1995].
At present,the lateral extentsof the BaldwinHills and Santa
8638 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

Figure 14. A three-dimensional

fault-bendfold developedabovea ramp connectingtwo horizontaldecol-
lementS.A tearthatsegments
therampisreflectedbyan offsetof the overlying
foldtrend.Tearsof faultramps
arelikelycandidates
for segment
boundaries
thatwilllimittheareathatruptures
in individual
blind-thrust
earthquakesand thereforelimit earthquakemagnitudes.

Ana segmentsare only partiallydefinedby availableseismic earthquake(Figure 15). This offsetof the fold trend, which is
reflectiondata. We speculatethat the BaldwinHills segment reflectedby regional structurecontour maps [Wright,1991],
may extendnorthwestfrom Potrero Gap to the SantaMonica may overlie a discontinuitythat segmentsthe underlyingEly-
thrustfront(Figure15).TheSantaAnasegme. nt likelyextends sianPark ramp. The deepElysianPark ramp that we describe,
southeastof the Santa Ana River, where to the southwestthe therefore,consists of twosegments (LosAngelesandWhittier)
seafloor plunges abruptly, possibly marking a significant that may rupture independently.The northwesternand south-
change inthefaultgeometry orslip(Figure 15).TheComptoneasternextentsof the Elysian Park ramp are unknown.Be-
thrust ramp, however,may extend farther southeastbeneath causewe recognizeno foldingconsistentwith flatteningof the
the San JoseHills and Newport Mesa, which have risen at an ElysianPark ramp,we speculatethat the ramp extendsnorth-
averagerate of 0.25 mm/yr [Barrieet al., 1992]. Assuming eastof the Whittier Narrowsepicentralzone and Puente Hills,
rigid-blocktranslation,we calculatethat this observeduplift possiblyto the baseof the seismogenic crustat about 17 km
could be a result of a 1.4 _+0.4 mm/yr slip rate on a 8ø-16ø depth (Figure 15). Therefore the western,Los Angelesseg-
dipping Compton thrust ramp. ment of the ElysianPark ramp that directlyunderliesdown-
On the basisof (1), we predictthat individualrupturesof the town would have an area of about 360 km2. The eastern,
BaldwinHills(350km2) andSantaAna (170km2) segments of Whittier segmentof the ElysianPark ramp hasa similararea
the Comptonramp maybe capableof generatingM • 6.6 and of 320km2 (Figure15).Based on(1),weestimate thatruptures
M • 6.3 earthquakes, respectively(Figure 15). Alternatively, of the Los Angeles and Whittier segmentscould generate
simultaneousrupture of the three defined segmentsof the separateM • 6.6 earthquakes.Alternatively, simultaneous
Compton ramp(1070km. 2) couldcause a M • 7.1 event. ruptureof the Los Angelesand Whittier segmentsof the Ely-
However,larger or additionalsegmentrupturesare alsoplau- sianPark ramp couldgeneratea M • 6.9 event.Finally,joint
sible if the Compton thrust ramp extendsbeneath the Santa rupture of the ElysianPark ramp and Central segmentof the
Monica thrust front in the northwestand/or to the Newport Compton ramp, includingthe interveningdecollement,could
Mesa in the southeast. generatea M • 7.2 earthquake;inclusionof the BaldwinHills
The ElysianPark rampin the northernLosAngelesbasin and SantaAna segmentsmay yield a larger, M • 7.3 event.
has a mappedlateral extentequal to the definedsegmentsof Long-term averagerepeat times or recurrenceintervalsfor
the Comptonthrustramp. The ElysianPark trend, however,is thesepossible blind-thrusteventsin the LosAngelesbasincan
offsetnear the epicentralzone of the 1987 Whittier Narrows be predictedfrom long-termfault slip rates and estimatesof
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS 8639

30' 118 ø
i
.

Santa Monica Mountains

Downtown
N10km
i
Los Angeles

.... •'-•-• •?---- . ' ß

34 ø
•o.... • ....

Baldwin
Hills'
•'- Segment

•9

\
\\ \
\\\
\,\NN Santa Ana.' ..

Segment -.i•
\
\
\
\\
\
\
\ \\

Fault Segments Area

Compton Ramp: (Centralsegment I) = 550km2
(BaldwinHillssegment II) = 350km2(?)
(SantaAnasegment Ill) = 170km2(?) 'i::::.--'..-'iiiii::::iiii:!gi.:,•/•
=Blind Thrust Fault Ramp
no pattern where lesscertain
Elysian
ParkRamp:(LosAngeles segment IV) = 360km2 ],'__'__4
' ' '•--Deco!!ement
Segment
(WhittiersegmentV) = 320km2
CentralBasinDeco!!ement:
(VI) = 430km2 '• --Active
Fold
Trace
Figure 15. Map of segmentsof the Compton and Elysian Park blind-thrust ramps and Central Basin
decollement.Fold trends: A, Compton-LosAlamitos trend; B, Elysian Park trend; T-W-B, Torrance-
Wilmington-Belmonttrend. Offsetsin map view of the Compton-LosAlamitos and Elysian Park trends
(Figure12) overliepotentialsegmentboundaries
of the underlyingCompton-Elysian
Parkblind-thrustsystem.
The Comptonramp consistsof a Central segment(I) and adjacentBaldwinHills (II) and SantaAna (III)
segments.The deep ElysianPark ramp consistsof the Los Angeles(IV) and Whittier (V) segmentsand is
separatedfrom the Comptonramp by the CentralBasindecollement(VI). SeeFigures1 and 12 for symbols
and abbreviations.

coseismicdisplacement,whichare relatedto earthquakemag- large earthquakes,then the average,long-term recurrencein-

nitudes.In additionto the relation betweenmoment magni- terval can be approximatedby
tude andruptureareain (1), Wellsand Coppersmith [1994]also
providean empiricalrelationbetweenmomentmagnitudeand RI = AD/LTS, (3)
averagecoseismicdisplacementfor all fault types:
whereRI is recurrenceinterval(in years)andLTS is long-term
log (AD)= (0.69M) - 4.80, (2) slip rate (in meters per year). Earthquakerepeat times of
blind-thrust events can then be estimated from our measured
where M is moment magnitudeand AD is averagecoseismic fault slip rates and areasusing(2) by
displacement(in meters). We use this relation of Wellsand
Coppersmith[1994] for all fault typesbecauseit was defined log (RI-LTS)= (0.69M) - 4.80. (4)
better by data and is similarto their lessstatisticallysignificant
magnitudeto averagecoseismicslip relation for thrust and In Figure 16 these relationsbetween fault parametersand
reversefaults [Wellsand Coppersmith,1994]. Assumingthat earthquake characteristicsare plotted for segmentsof the
most of the long-term slip on a fault segmentis releasedin Compton-ElysianPark thrustsystem.Basedon theserelations,
8640 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

FAULT PARAMETERS TO EARTHQUAKE CHARACTERISTICS

7.5 / / /
/ / / .3000
/ / /
/ / /
.2000
/ / /
/
/ / /
/ /
/ /
/ / / /
/ / / / .1000
/ / / /
7 / / / /
/ / /
/
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ / /
/ / /
/ /
/
/ /
/
/ /
/
/
/
/
/ /
/ ,100
/ /
/ / / /

RecurrenceInterval (RI) in years

RuptureSegments Area(km2) M SR_+0.0004(m/yr)AD(m) RI(range)(yr)

Compton: Central(I) 550 6.8 0.0014 0.78 560 (430-780)
Baldwin Hills (II) 350 6.6 0.0014 0.57 410 (320-570)
Santa Ana (III) 170 6.3 0.0014 0.35 250 (190-350)
ElysianPark:Los Angeles(IV) 360 6.6 0.0017 0.57 340 (270-440)
Whittier (V) 320 6.6 0.0017 0.57 340 (270-440)
Multiple SegmentRuptures:
Ml=(I+II+III) 1070 7.1 0.0014 1.30 930 (720-1300)
M2=(I+VI) 980 7.0 0.0014 1.10 790 (610-1100)
M3=(IV+V) 680 6.9 0.0017 0.91 540 (430-700)
M4=(IV+V+VI) 1110 7.1 0.0017 1.30 770 (620-1000)
M5=(I+M4) 1660 7.2 0.0017 1.50 880 (710-1150)
M6=(ALL Segments) 2180 7.3 0.0017 1.70 1000(810-1310)

Figure 16. (top) Plot of relationsbetweenfault parameters(area and slip rate) and potentialearthquake
characteristics(magnitude,repeattime) basedon equations(1) and(4) in text.PointsI throughVI correspond
to individualfault segmentsthat are mappedin Figure 15; M1 throughM6 correspondto multiple segment
rupture scenarios.(bottom) Compilation of potential earthquakecharacteristics, with repeat time ranges
definedsolelyby rangesin averageslip rates.Tabulatedestimatesof averagecoseismicdisplacements (AD)
and recurrenceintervals(RI) are basedon magnitudeestimates(M) roundedto two significantfigures.

characteristicM • 6.8 eventson the Central segmentof the active, then the lack of historic earthquakeson these faults
Compton ramp, which slips at 1.4 _+ 0.4 mm/yr, can occur lendssupportto the larger,multisegmentscenariosfor at least
about every560 years.These eventswould releasean average someearthquakes.
of about0.8 m of slip (Figure 16). To distinguishbetween these many plausible earthquake
Basedon the empiricalrelations,characteristicearthquakes scenariosand to predictspecifically the timingof futureevents,
on the Los Angeles (M • 6.6) and Whittier (M • 6.6) geologicdata on pastblind-thrustearthquakesare a necessity.
segmentsof the ElysianPark ramp, which slipsat 1.7 +_0.4 Specifically,estimatesof coseismic uplift acrosskink bandsand
mm/yr,wouldeachoccuraboutevery340 years(Figure 16). If dated eventswould define activefault segments,characteristic
both segmentsrupturedsimultaneously, they couldgeneratea rupturecycles,and coseismic slipandwouldalludeto the areas
M • 6.9 event every540 years.Moment magnitude7.2 earth- or segmentsthat ruptured simultaneously.In addition, more
quakesthat ruptured the Elysian Park ramp and Central seg- precise age determinationsof folded Quaternary strata in
ment of the Compton ramp could occurevery 880 years,and growth trianglesas well as geodetic monitoring shouldyield
inclusion of the defined areas of the Baldwin Hills and Santa better slip rate estimatesand providemore accuraterangesof
Ana segments(Figure 15) couldyield major, M • 7.3 events earthquake repeat times. Nevertheless,the number of blind-
about every 1000years(Figure 16). If theseblind thrustsare thrustramps,their proximityto metropolitanLosAngeles,and
 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES
the proposeddeficitin regionalseismicmomentrelease[Dolan
et al., 1995] make thesefaults a potential threat.
Conclusions
We documented several blind-thrust faults under the central
Los Angelesthat lie beneath Plioceneand Quaternary growth
foldsimagedin seismicreflectionprofiles.The Comptonthrust
ramp extendsfrom at least the BaldwinHills southeastto the
Santa Ana River and southwestto the Torrance-Wilmington-
Belmont trend. Northeastof the centralbasin,a ramp beneath
the ElysianPark fold trend [Daviset al., 1989] consistsof the
Los Angeles and Whittier segmentsthat extend from down-
town Los AngelessoutheastbeyondCoyoteCreek. Similar slip
distributionssuggestthat these two ramps are linked by a
decollementbeneath the central Los Angeles basin, forming
the Compton-ElysianPark blind-thrustsystem.In addition,the
Cienegasand Coyote Hills growth fold trends overlie more
shallowblind-thrustfaultsin the ElysianPark trend,whichmay
not be closelylinked to the Compton ramp.
Recent seismicity,includingthe 1987 Whittier Narrows (M
= 6.0) earthquake[Haukssonand Jones,1989; Davis et al.,
1989], demonstratesthat some blind-thrustfaults in the Los
Angelesarea are currentlyactiveand suggests that othersmay
alsobe seismogenic. Becausethe seismicreflectiondatawe use
cannot resolve Holocene strata, recent activity on fault seg-
ments that have not causedhistoric earthquakesmust be es-
tablished through near-surface investigations of the fold
trends.Nevertheless,structuralrelief and near-surfacefolding
of horizonsalongthe Compton-LosAlamitosand ElysianPark
trends indicate that the underlyingfaults slipped in the late
Quaternary and may be active. Under the scenariothat seg-
ments of the Compton-ElysianPark thrust systemare active
and seismogenic,relations between fault parameters and
earthquake characteristicsindicate that individual segment
ruptures are capable of causingeventssimilar in size to the
1994 Northridge (M = 6.7) earthquake.Alternatively,simul-
taneousruptures of multiple segmentscould generatelarger,
M • 7.0 or greater events.Assumingthat most of the long-
term slip on these faults is releasedin large events,relations
betweenmagnitudeand coseismicdisplacementindicateaver-
age repeat times of individual and multiple segmentruptures
ranging from about 200 to over 1300 years. If these blind
thrusts are active, then the lack of historic earthquakeson
these faults lends supportto three plausiblealternatives:(1)
muchof the fault slip is releasedaseismically; (2) larger,mul-
tisegmentruptures causeat least some earthquakes;or (3)
segment ruptures occur in clustersand the historic record
representspart of a quiescentperiod. In the latter two scenar-
ios, these newly documentedblind faults contribute substan-
tially to the seismichazardsin southernCalifornia,particularly
because of their location directly beneath the Los Angeles
metropolitan area.
Acknowledgments. This researchwasfunded by the SouthernCal-
ifornia EarthquakeCenter (SCEC), Texaco,Inc., and PrincetonUni-
versity.Seismicreflectionandwell log data, essentialto thiswork, were
providedby TexacoUSA and Nippon Western Co., Ltd. Reviewsfrom
P. Geiser, S. Hook, K. Hudnut, and C. Rubin, as well as comments
from P. Brennan, J. Dolan, K. Mueller, T. Rockwell, K. Sieh, and T.
Wright greatlyimprovedthe manuscript.
References
Barrie, D., T. S. Tatnall, and E. Gath, Neotectonicuplift and agesof
Pleistocenemarine terraces,San Joaquin Hills, Orange County,
BLIND THRUSTS 8641
California, in The RegressivePleistoceneShoreline,CoastalSouthern
California,Annu. Field Trip GuideBook, vol. 20, pp. 115-121, South
Coast Geol. Soc., Santa Ana, Calif., 1992.
Blake, G. H., Review of the Neogenebiostratigraphyand stratigraphy
of the Los Angeles basin and implicationsfor basin evolution,in
Active Margin Basins, edited by K. T. Biddle, AAPG Mem., 52,
135-184, 1991.
Bryant, M. E., Emergent marine terracesand Quaternary tectonics,
Palos Verdes Peninsula,California, in Geologyof the Palos l/erdes
Peninsulaand San PedroBay, Vol. Guideb.,vol. 55, edited by P. J.
Fischer,pp. 63-78, Pac.Sect.,Soc.of Econ. Paleontol.and Mineral.,
Santa Barbara, Calif., 1987.
California Division of Oil and Gas, Oil and Gas ProspectWellsDrilled
in California,258 pp., Calif. Dep. of Conserv.,Sacramento,1982.
Crouch, J. K., and J. Suppe, Late Cenozoictectonicevolutionof the
Los Angeles basin and Inner California Borderland: A model for
core-complex-like crustalextension,Geol.Soc.Am. Bull., 105, 1415-
1434, 1993.
Davis, T. L., J. Namson, and R. F. Yerkes, A crosssection of the Los
Angelesarea: Seismicallyactivefold-and-thrustbelt, the 1987Whit-
tier NarrowsEarthquakeand earthquakehazard,J. Geophys.Res.,
94, 9644-9664, 1989.
Dolan, J. F., K. Sieh,T. K. Rockwell,R. S. Yeats, J. Shaw,J. Suppe,G.
Huftile, and E. Gath, Prospectsfor larger or more frequent earth-
quakesin the greaterLos Angelesmetropolitanregion,California,
Science,267, 199-205, 1995.
Haq, B. U., Jurassicto recentnannofossilbiostratigraphy,
an update,
in NannofossilBiostratigraphy,
BenchmarkPap. Geol.,vol. 78, edited
by B. U. Haq, pp. 358-378, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York,
1984.
Hauksson,E., Seismotectonics
of the Newport-Inglewoodfault zone in
the Los Angelesbasin,southernCalifornia,Bull. Seismol.Soc.Am.,
77, 539-561, 1987.
Hauksson,E., Earthquakes,faulting and stressin the Los Angeles
Basin,J. Geophys.Res., 95, 15,365-15,394, 1990.
Hauksson,E., and L. M. Jones,The 1987Whittier Narrowsearthquake
sequencein Los Angeles,southernCalifornia: Seismologicaland
tectonicanalysis,J. Geophys.Res.,94, 9569-9589, 1989.
Henderson,M. T., A gravity and structuralinterpretation of the Los
Angelesbasin,California, thesis,65 pp., PrincetonUniv., Princeton,
N.J., 1993.
Jennings,C. W., Preliminaryfault activitymap of California,Calif.Div.
Min. Geol. Open File Rep., 92-03, 1992.
Jordan,T. E., R. W. Allmendinger,J. F. Damanti, and R. E. Drake,
Chronologyof motion in a completethrust belt: The Precordillera,
30-31øS, Andes Mountains, J. Geol., 101, 135-156, 1993.
King, G. C. P., and C. Vita-Finzi, Active folding in the Algerian
earthquakeof 10 October 1980,Nature,292, 22-26, 1981.
Lajoie, K. R., J.P. Kern, J. F. Wehmiller, G. L. Kennedy, S. A.
Mathieson,A.M. Sarna-Wojcicki,R. F. Yerkes, and P. F. McCrory,
Quaternary marine shorelinesand crustaldeformation,San Diego
to Santa Barbara, California, in GeologicExcursionsin the Southern
CaliforniaArea, edited by P. L. Abbott, pp. 3-15, Geol. Soc.of Am.,
Boulder, Colo., 1979.
McNeilan, T. W., T. K. Rockwell, and G. S. Resnick, Senseand rate of
Holocene slip, PalosVerdes fault, southernCalifornia,J. Geophys.
Res., in press,1996.
Medwedeff, D. A., Growth fault-bendfolding at southeastLost Hills,
San JoaquinValley, California,AAPG Bull., 73, 54-67, 1989.
Medwedeff, D. A., Geometry and kinematicsof an active, laterally
propagatingwedgethrust,Wheeler Ridge, California, in Structural
Geologyof Fold and ThrustBelts,edited by S. Mitra and G. Fisher,
pp. 3-28, JohnsHopkinsUniv. Press,Baltimore,Md., 1992.
Mount, V. S., and J. Suppe,Present-daystressorientationsadjacentto
activestrike-slipfaults:California and Sumatra,J. Geophys.Res.,97,
11,995-12,031, 1992.
Mount, V. S., S.C. Hook, and J. Suppe,A forward modelingstrategy
for balanced crosssections,AAPG Bull., 74, 521-531, 1990.
Nardin, T. R., and T. L. Henyey,Pliocene-Pleistocene
diastrophismof
Santa Monica and San Pedro shelves,California continental border-
land, AAPG Bull., 62, 247-272, 1978.
Narr, W., and J. Suppe,Kinematicsof basement-involved
compressive
structures,Am. J. Sci., 294, 802-860, 1994.
Ponti, D. J., Aminostratigraphyand chronostratigraphy
of Pleistocene
marine sediments, southwesternLos Angeles basin, California,
Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Colo., Boulder, 1989.
8642 SHAW AND SUPPE: LOS ANGELES BLIND THRUSTS

Rich, J. L., Mechanicsof low-angleoverthrustfaultingasillustratedby amongmagnitude,rupturelength,rupture width, rupture area, and

CumberlandThrust Block, Virginia, Kentuckyand Tennessee,Am. surfacedisplacement,Bull. Seismol.Soc.Am., 84, 974-1002, 1994.
Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., 19, 1584-1596, 1934. Wentworth,C. M., and M.D. Zoback, Structureof the Coalingaarea
Rodgers,J., Chains of basementuplifts within cratonsmarginal to and thrust origin of the earthquake,in The Coalinga,California,
orogenicbelts,Am. J. Sci., 287, 661-692, 1987. Earthquakeof May 2, 1983, U.S. Geol. Surv.Prof. Pap., 1487, 41-68,
Shaw,J. H., and J. Suppe,Active faulting and growthfolding in the 1990.
eastern Santa Barbara Channel, California, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., Woodring,W. P., M. N. Bramlette,and W. S. W. Kew, Geologyand
106, 607-626, 1994. paleontologyof the PalosVerdes Hills, California, U.S. Geol. Surv.
Shaw, J. H., R. E. Bischke,and J. Suppe, Relations betweenfolding Prof.Pap., 207, 137 pp., 1946.
and faulting in the Loma Prieta epicentralzone: Strike-slipfault- Woodward-ClydeConsultants,Report on the evaluationof maximum
bend folding,in TheLoma Prieta,California,Earthquakeof October earthquakeand site groundmotion parametersassociated with the
17, 1989, edited by R. Simpson,U.S. Geol. Surv.Prof. Pap., 1550-F, offshorezone of deformation,San Onofre Nuclear GeneratingSta-
1-22, 1994a. tion: Report preparedfor SouthernCaliforniaEdison,56 pp., Los
Shaw,J. H., S.C. Hook, andJ. Suppe,Structuraltrend analysisby axial Angeles,Calif., 1979.
surfacemapping,AAPG Bull., 78, 700-721, 1994b. Wright, T. L., Structuralgeologyand tectonic evolutionof the Los
Stein, R. S., and G. Ekstrom, Seismicityand geometryof a 110-km- Angelesbasin,California, in ActiveMargin Basins,edited by K. T.
long blind thrust fault, 2, Synthesisof the 1982-1985 California Biddle, AAPG Mem., 52, 35-134, 1991.
earthquakesequence,J. Geophys.Res.,97, 4865-4883, 1992. Xiao, H. B., andJ. Suppe,Origin of rollover,AAPG Bull., 76, 509-529,
Stein, R. S., and R. S. Yeats, Hidden earthquakes,Sci.Am., 260(6), 1992.
48-57, 1989. Yeats, R. S., and J. M. Beall, Stratigraphiccontrolsof oil fieldsin the
Suppe,J., Geometry and kinematicsof fault-bendfolding,Am. J. Sci., Los Angeles basin:A guide to migration history,in ActiveMargin
283, 684-721, 1983. Basins,editedby K. T. Biddle,AAPG Bull. Mem., 52, 221-235, 1991.
Suppe,J., and D. A. Medwedeff, Geometry and kinematicsof fault- Yerkes, R. F., T. H. McCulloh, J. E. Schoellhamer, and J. G. Vedder,
propagationfolding,EcologaeGeol.Helv., 83(3), 409-454, 1990. Geology of the Los Angeles basin, California--An introduction,
Suppe,J., G. T. Chou, and S.C. Hook, Rates of folding and faulting U.S. Geol. Surv.Prof. Pap., 420-A, 57 pp., 1965.
determinedfrom growthstrata,in ThrustTectonics,editedby K. R. Ziony, J. I., and L. M. Jones,Map showinglate Quaternaryfaultsand
McKlay, pp. 105-121, ChapmanHall, New York, 1992. 1978-84 seismicityof the LosAngelesregion,California,U.S. Geol.
U.S. GeologicalSurveyand Southern California Earthquake Center Surv.Misc. FieM Stud.Map, MF-1964, 1989.
Scientists(USGS and SCEC), The magnitude6.7 Northridge,Cal-
ifornia,Earthquakeof 17January1994,Science, 266, 389-397, 1994. J. H. Shaw,TexacoExplorationand ProductionTechnologyDepart-
Ward, S. N., and G. Valensise, The Palos Verdes terraces, California: ment,3901Briarpark,Houston,TX 77942.(e-mail:shaw@texaco.com)
Bathtub rings from a buried reverse fault, J. Geophys.Res., 99, J. Suppe, Department of Geological and GeophysicalSciences,
4485-4494, 1994. Guyot Hall, PrincetonUniversity,Princeton,NJ 08544-1003.
Warren, A.D., Calcareousnannoplanktonbiostratigraphy of Cenozoic
marine stagesin California, in Miocene Stratigraphyof California
Revisited,edited by R. M. Kleinpell, pp. 60-69, Am. Assoc.of Pet.
Geol., Tulsa, Okla., 1980. (ReceivedJanuary19, 1995;revisedOctober 11, 1995;
Wells, D. L., and K. J. Coppersmith,New empirical relationships acceptedNovember2, 1995.)