qfaults web comp As of January 12, 2017, the USGS maintains a limited number of metadata fields that characterize the Quaternary faults and folds of the United States. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the interactive fault map.

Archived report (descriptions no longer maintained)

San Andreas fault zone, San Bernardino Mountains section (Class A) No. 1i

Last Review Date: 2002-12-10

Compiled in cooperation with the California Geological Survey

County(s) and State(s) SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Physiographic province(s) PACIFIC BORDER
BASIN AND RANGE
Reliability of location Good
Compiled at 1:62,500 scale.
Length (km) This section is 128 km of a total fault length of 1082 km.
Average strike N79°W
Sense of movement Right lateral
Dip 90–35° N.
Historic earthquake
Most recent prehistoric deformation latest Quaternary (<15 ka)
Slip-rate category Greater than 5.0 mm/yr
References Allen, C.R., 1954, The San Andreas fault zone in San Gorgonio Pass, California: Pasadena, California Institute of Technology, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 147 p.

Allen, C.R., 1957, San Andreas fault zone in San Gorgonio Pass, southern California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 68, no. 3, p. 315-350.

Allen, C.R., 1968, The tectonic environments of seismically active and inactive areas along the San Andreas fault system, in Dickinson, W.R., and Grantz, A., eds., Proceedings of conference on geologic problems of San Andreas fault system: Palo Alto, California, Stanford University Publications, Geological Sciences, v. XI, p. 70-82.

Anderson, F.M., 1899, The geology of Point Reyes Peninsula: Berkeley, California, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, v. 2, p. 119-153.

Bailey, R.A., 1989, Geologic map of the Long Valley caldera, Mono-Inyo craters volcanic chain and vicinity, eastern California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1933, scale 1:62,500.

Bakun, W.H., 1999, Seismic activity of the San Francisco Bay region: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 89, no. 3, p. 764-784.

Biasi, G.P., Weldon, R.J., II, Fumal, T.E., and Seitz, G.G., 2002, Paleoseismic event dating and the conditional probability of large earthquakes on the southern San Andreas fault, California: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Special Issue on Paleoseismology of the San Andreas Fault System, v. 92, no. 7, p. 2761-2781.

Burford, R.O., and Harsh, P.W., 1980, Slip on the San Andreas fault in central California from alignment array surveys: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 70, no. 4, p. 1233-1261.

Davis, T.L., and Duebendorfer, E., 1987, Strip map of the San Andreas fault, western Big Bend segment: Geological Society of America Map and Chart Series MC-60, 6 p. pamphlet, 2 sheets, scale 1:31,682.

Dergham, S.A., and McGill, S.F., 2000, Paleoseismic investigation of the San Andreas fault at Plunge Creek, near San Bernardino, California—Four to five centuries of strain accumulation since the most recent earthquake: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, p. A-10.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1964, Geologic map of the San Gorgonio Mountain quadrangle San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-431, 3 p. pamphlet, 1 sheet, scale 1:62,500.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1967, Geologic map of the Morongo Valley quadrangle San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-517, 4 p. pamphlet, 1 sheet, scale 1:62,500.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1968, Displacements on the San Andreas fault system in San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains, southern California, in Dickinson, W.R., and Grantz, A., eds., Proceedings of conference on geologic problems of San Andreas fault system: Palo Alto, California, Stanford University Publications in Geological Sciences, v. XI, p. 269-278.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1974, Geologic map of the Lake Arrowhead quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 73-56, scale 1:62,500.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1981, Geologic map of the Banning (15 minute) quadrangle, California: South Coast Geological Society, Geologic Map SCGS-2, scale 1:62,500.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1981, Geologic map of the Palm Springs (15 minute) quadrangle, California: South Coast Geological Society, Geologic Map SCGS-3, scale 1:62,500.

Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1982, Geology of the San Bernardino Mountains, southern California, in Fife, D.L., and Minch, J.A., eds., Geology and mineral wealth of the California Transverse Ranges—Mason Hill Volume: South Coast Geological Society Guidebook 10, p. 148-169.

Fumal, T.E., Rymer, M.J., and Seitz, G.G., 2002, Timing of large earthquakes since A.D. 800 on the Mission Creek strand of the San Andreas fault zone at Thousand Palms Oasis, near Palm Springs, California: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Special Issue on Paleoseismology of the San Andreas Fault System, v. 92, no. 7, p. 2841-2860.

Fumal, T.E., Weldon, R.J., II, Biasi, G.P., Dawson, T.E., Seitz, G.G., Frost, W.T., and Schartz, D.P., 2002, Evidence for large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault at the Wrightwood, California, paleoseismic site—A.D. 500 to present: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Special Issue on Paleoseismology of the San Andreas Fault System, v. 92, no. 7, p. 2726-2760.

Grant, L.B., and Sieh, K., 1994, Paleoseismic evidence of clustered earthquakes on the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 99, no. B4, p. 6819-6841.

Hall, N.T., Wright, R.H., and Clahan, K.B., 1999, Paleoseismic studies of the San Francisco Peninsula segment of the San Andreas fault zone near Woodside, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 104, no. B10, p. 23,215-23,236.

Harden, J.W., and Matti, J.C., 1989, Holocene and late Pleistocene slip rate on the San Andreas fault in Yucaipa, California, using displaced alluvial-fan deposits and soil chronology: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 101, p. 1107-1117.

Hart, E.W., and Bryant, W.A., 1997, Fault-rupture hazard zones in California: California Division of Mines and Geology Special Report 42, 38 p.

Hill, M.L., 1981, San Andreas fault—History of concepts: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 92, p. 112-131.

Hill, M.L., and Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1953, San Andreas, Garlock, and Big Pine faults, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 64, p. 443–458.

Hill, R.T., 1928, Southern California geology and Los Angeles earthquakes: Los Angeles, Southern California Academy of Sciences, 232 p.

Hope, R.A., 1969, Map showing recently active breaks along the San Andreas and related faults between Cajon Pass and Salton Sea: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 69-130, 2 plates, scale 1:24,000, https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr69130.

Jacoby, G.C., Sheppard, P.R., and Sieh, K.E., 1987, Was the 8 December 1812 California earthquake produced by the San Andreas fault?—Evidence from trees near Wrightwood [abs.]: Seismological Research Letters, v. 58, no. 1, p. 14.

Jacoby, G.C., Sheppard, P.R., and Sieh, K.E., 1988, Irregular recurrence of large earthquakes along the San Andreas fault—Evidence from trees: Science, v. 241, p. 196-199.

Jennings, C.W., 1994, Fault activity map of California and adjacent areas, with locations of recent volcanic eruptions: California Division of Mines and Geology Geologic Data Map 6, 92 p., 2 pls., scale 1:750,000.

Keller, E.A., Bonkowski, M.S., Korsch, R.J., and Shlemon, R.J., 1982, Tectonic geomorphology of the San Andreas fault zone in the southern Indio Hills, Coachella Valley, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 93, no. 1, p. 46-56.

Lawson, A.C., 1893, The post-Pliocene diastrophism of the coast of southern California: Berkeley, California, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, v. 1, p. 115-160.

Lawson, A.C., 1895, Sketch of the geology of the San Francisco peninsula, California: U.S. Geological Survey Annual Report, v. 15, p. 399-476.

Lawson, A.C., chairman, 1908, The California earthquake of April 18, 1906—Report of the State Earthquake Investigation Commission: Washington, D.C., Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 87.

Matthews, V., III, 1976, Correlation of Pinnacles and Neenach volcanic formations and their bearing on San Andreas fault problem: Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, v. 60, no. 12, p. 2128-2141.

Matti, J.C., and Morton, D.M., 1982, Geologic history of the Banning fault zone, southern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 14, no. 4, p. 184.

Matti, J.C., and Morton, D.M., 1993, Paleogeographic evolution of the San Andreas fault in southern California—A reconstruction based on a new cross-fault correlation, in Powell, R.E., Weldon, R.J., II, and Matti, J.C., ed., The San Andreas fault system—Displacement, palinspastic reconstruction, and geologic evolution: Geological Society of America Memoir 178, p. 107-160.

Matti, J.C., Cox, B.F., Obi, C.M., Powell, R.E., Hinkle, M.E., and Griscom, A., 1982, Mineral resource potential of the Whitewater Wilderness Study Area, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1478-A, scale 1:24,000.

Matti, J.C., Morton, D.M., and Cox, B.F., 1992, The San Andreas fault system in the vicinity of the central Transverse Ranges province, southern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 92-354, 49 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:125,000.

Matti, J.C., Morton, D.M., Cox, B.F., Carson, S.E., and Yetter, T.J., 1992, Geologic map of the Yucaipa 7.5-minute quadrangle, California: Open-File Report 92-446, 14 p. pamphlet, scale 1:24,000.

McGill, S.F., Birnhaum, B.B., Reeder, W.R., and Burke, D., 1999, Late Quaternary activity on the North Branch of the San Andreas fault near San Bernardino, California, in Cranham, G.T., ed., Water for southern California—Water resources development at the close of the Century: San Diego, San Diego Association of Geologists, p. 31-36.

McGill, S.F., Dergham, S., Barton, K., Berney-Ficklin, T., Grant, D., Hartling, C., Hobart, K., Minnich, R., Rodriguez, M., Runnerstrom, E., Russell, J., Schmoker, K., Stumfall, M., Townsend, J., and Williams, J., 2002, Paleoseismology of the San Andreas fault at Plunge Creek, near San Bernardino, southern California: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Special Issue on Paleoseismology of the San Andreas Fault System, v. 92, no. 7, p. 2803-2840.

McGill, S.F., Grant, D., Dergham, S., Suitt, S.C., Meeker, A., and Wells, S.G., 1998, Prehistoric earthquakes on the San Andreas fault, San Bernardino, California [abs.]: Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 79, no. 45, p. F611.

Miller, F.K., 1979, Geologic map of the San Bernardino North quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 79-770, scale 1:24,000.

Morton, D.M., 1978, Geologic map of the Redlands quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 78-021, scale 1:24,000.

Morton, D.M., and Matti, J.C., 1991, Geologic map of the Devore 7.5-minute quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 90-695, scale 1:24,000.

Niemi, T.M., and Hall, N.T., 1992, Late Holocene slip rate and recurrence of great earthquakes on the San Andrea fault in northern California: Geology, v. 20, no. 3, p. 196-198.

Noble, L.F., 1926, The San Andreas rift and some other active faults in the desert region of southeastern California: Carnegie Institution of Washington Year Book 25, p. 415-428.

Noller, J.S., Simpson, G.D., and Lightfoot, K., 1996, Paleoseismic and geoarchaeologic investigations of the northern San Andreas fault, Fort Ross, California, in National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Summaries of technical reports: U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program External Research Program, Annual Project Summaries, v. 37, http://erp-web.er.usgs.gov/reports/annsum/vol37/nc/g2474.htm.

Petersen, M.D., Bryant, W.A., Cramer, C.H., Cao, T., Reichle, M.S., Frankel, A.D., Lienkaemper, J.J., McCrory, P.A., and Schwartz, D.P., 1996, Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for the State of California: California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 96-08 (also U.S. Geological Open-File Report 96-706), 33 p.

Powell, R.E., 1993, Balanced palinspastic reconstruction of pre-late Cenozoic paleogeology, southern California—Geologic and kinematic constraints on evolution of the San Andreas fault system, in Powell, R.E., Weldon, R.J., II, and Matti, J.C., ed., The San Andreas Fault System—Displacement, palinspastic reconstruction, and geologic evolution: Geological Society of America Memoir 178, p. 1-106.

Prentice, C.S., 1989, Earthquake geology of the northern San Andreas fault near Point Arena, California: Pasadena, California Institute of Technology, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 252 p.

Prentice, C.S., 1999, San Andreas fault—1906 earthquake and subsequent evolution of ideas: Geological Society of America Special Paper 338, p. 79-85.

Rasmussen and Associates, 1990, Engineering geology investigation, tentative tract no. 25141 within the E1/2 of the SE1/4 of section 13, T2S, R2W, SBB&M, Calimesa, California: Project no. 2854, March 6, 1990.

Rasmussen, G.S., 1982, Geologic features and rate of movement along the south branch of the San Andreas fault, San Bernardino, California, in Rasmussen, G.S., ed., Geologic hazards along the San Andreas fault system, San Bernardino-Hemet-Elsinore, California—Field Trip 4 in Cooper, T.D., compiler, Neotectonics in southern California: Geological Society of America , Cordilleran Section, 78th Annual Meeting, Anaheim, California, p. 109-114.

Schuyler, J.D., 1896-1897, Reservoirs for irrigation: U.S. Geological Survey, 18th Annual Report, part IV, p. 711-712.

Schwartz, D.P., Pantosti, D., Okumura, K., Powers, T.J., and Hamilton, J.C., 1998, Paleoseismic investigations in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California—Implications for recurrence of large-magnitude earthquakes on the San Andrea fault: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 103, no. B8, p. 17,985-18,001.

Seitz, G.G., and Weldon, R.J., II, 1994, The paleoseismology of the southern San Andreas fault at Pitman Canyon, San Bernardino, California, in McGill, S.F., and Ross, T.M., eds., Geologic investigations of an active margin: Cordilleran Section Annual Meeting, San Bernardino, California, Field trip guidebook, v. 27, p. 152-156.

Seitz, G.G., Weldon, R.J., II, and Biasi, G.P., 1997, The Pitman Canyon paleoseismic record—A reevaluation of southern San Andreas segmentation, in Hancock, P.L., and Michetti, A.M., eds., Paleoseismology—Understanding past earthquakes using Quaternary geology: Journal of Geodynamics, v. 24, no. 1-4, p. 129-138.

Sieh, K.E., 1978, Large prehistoric earthquakes produced by slip on the San Andreas fault at Pallet Creek, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 83, no. B8, p. 3907-3939.

Sieh, K.E., 1986, Slip rate across the San Andreas fault and prehistoric earthquakes at Indio, California [abs.]: Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 67, no. 55, p. 1200.

Sieh, K.E., and Matti, J.C., 1992, San Andreas fault system between Palm Springs and Palmdale, Southern California, in Sieh, K.E., and Matti, J.C., ed., Earthquake geology, San Andreas fault system, Palm Springs to Palmdale: Association of Engineering Geologists, 35th annual meeting, Southern California section, Guidebook, v. 35, p. 1-12.

Sieh, K.E., and Williams, P.L., 1990, Behavior of the San Andreas fault during the past 300 years: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 95, no. B5, p. 6629-6645.

Sieh, K.E., Grant, L.B., and Freeman, S.T., 1994, Late Quaternary slip rate of the North Branch of the San Andreas fault at City Creek, California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 26, no. 2, p. 91.

Sieh, K.E., Stuiver, M., and Brillinger, D., 1989, A more precise chronology of earthquakes produced by the San Andreas fault in southern California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 94, no. B1, p. 603-623.

Sims, J.D., 1993, Chronology of displacement on the San Andreas fault in central California—Evidence from reversed positions of exotic rock bodies near Parkfield, California, in Powell, R.E., Weldon, R.J., II, and Matti, J.C., ed., The San Andreas fault system—Displacement, palinspastic reconstruction, and geologic evolution: Geological Society of America Memoir 178, p. 231-256.

Sims, J.D., 1994, Stream channel offset and abandonment and a 200-year average recurrence interval of earthquakes on the San Andreas fault at Phelan Creek, Carrizo Plain, California, in Prentice, C.S., Schwartz, D.P., and Yeats, R.S., ed., Proceedings of the workshop on paleoseismology: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-568, p. 170-172.

Stanley, R.G., 1987, New estimates of displacement along the San Andreas fault in central California based on paleobathymetry and paleogeography: Geology, v. 15, no. 2, p. 171-174.

Steinbrugge, K.V., and Zacher, E.G., 1960, Creep on the San Andreas fault—Fault creep and property damage: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 50, no. 3, p. 389-396.

Stone, E.M., Grant, L.B., and Arrowsmith, J.R., 2002, Recent rupture history of the San Andreas fault, southwest of Cholame in the northern Carrizo Plain, California: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 92, no. 3, p. 983-997.

Suitt, S.C., 1992, Feasibility-level geological investigation, 45-acre east Highland parcel, San Bernardino County, California: February 29, 1992.

Sykes, L.R., and Nishenko, S.P., 1984, Probabilities of occurrence of large plate rupturing earthquakes for the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Imperial faults, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 89, no. B7, p. 5905-5927.

Toppozada, T.R., and Borchardt, G., 1998, Re-evaluation of the 1836 "Hayward fault" and the 1938 San Andreas fault earthquakes: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 88, no. 1, p. 140-159.

Treiman, J.A., 1994, The San Grogonio Pass, Banning, and related faults, Riverside County, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Fault Evaluation Report FER-235, 47 p., scale 1:240,000.

van der Woerd, J., Klinger, Y., Sieh, K., Tapponnier, P., and Ryerson, F.J., 2001, First long-term slip rate along the San Andreas fault based on 10Be-26Al surface exposure dating—The Biska Palms site, 23 mm/yr for the last 30,000 years [abs.]: Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 82, p. 934.

Vaughn, R.E., 1922, Geology of San Bernardino Mountains north of San Gorgonio Pass: Berkeley, California, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, v. 13, no. 9, p. 319-411.

Wallace, R.E., 1970, Earthquake recurrence intervals on the San Andreas fault: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 81, p. 2875–2890.

Wallace, R.E., 1990, General features, in Wallace, R.E., ed., The San Andreas fault system: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1515, p. 3-12.

Weldon, R.J., II, and Sieh, K.E., 1985, Holocene rate of slip and tentative recurrence interval for large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault, Cajon Pass, southern California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, no. 6, p. 793-812.

Weldon, R.J., II, Meisling, K.E., and Alexander, J., 1993, A speculative history of the San Andreas fault in the central Transverse Ranges, California, in Powell, R.E., Weldon, R.J., II, and Matti, J.C., eds., The San Andreas fault system—Displacement, palinspastic reconstruction, and geologic evolution: Geological Society of America Memoir 178, p. 161-198.

Wilson, J.T., 1965, A new class of faults and their bearing on continental drift: Nature, v. 207, p. 343-347.

Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1988, Probabilities of large earthquakes occurring in California on the San Andreas fault: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-398, 62 p.

Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1990, Probabilities of large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region, California: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1053, 51 p.

Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1995, Seismic hazards in southern California—Probable earthquakes, 1994 to 2024: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 85, no. 2, p. 379-439.

Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1999, Earthquake probabilities in the San Francisco Bay region; 2000 to 2030—A summary of findings: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-517, 60 p.

Working Group on Northern California Earthquake Potential (WGNCEP), 1996, Database of potential sources for earthquakes larger than magnitude 6 in northern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-705, 40 p.

Yule, D., Fumal, T., McGill, S., and Seitz, G., 2001, Active tectonics and paleoseismic record of the San Andreas fault, Wrightwood to Indio: Working toward a forecast for the next "big event", in Dunne, G., and Cooper, J., eds., Geologic excursions in the California deserts and adjacent Transverse Ranges: Geological Society of America Fieldtrip Guidebook and Volume prepared for the Joint Meeting of the Cordilleran Section GSA and Pacific Section AAPG, p. 91-126.