Quaternary Fault and Fold Database of the United States

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Archived report (descriptions no longer maintained)

Northern Sangre de Cristo fault, San Luis section (Class A) No. 2321d

Last Review Date: 2012-01-13

Compiled in cooperation with the Colorado Geological Survey

County(s) and State(s)	COSTILLA COUNTY, COLORADO
Physiographic province(s)	SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Reliability of location	Good Compiled at 1:125,000 scale.
Length (km)	This section is 59 km of a total fault length of 164 km.
Average strike	N12°W (for section)
Sense of movement	Normal
Dip Direction	W
Historic earthquake
Most recent prehistoric deformation	latest Quaternary (<15 ka)
Slip-rate category	Less than 0.2 mm/yr
References	Brister, B.S., and Gries, R.R., 1994, Tertiary stratigraphy and tectonic development of the Alamosa basin (northern San Luis Basin), Rio Grande rift, south-central Colorado, in Keller, G.R., and Cather, S.M., eds., Basins of the Rio Grande rift—Structure, stratigraphy, and tectonic setting: Geological Society of America Special Paper 291, p. 39-58. Colman, S.M., 1985, Map showing tectonic features of late Cenozoic origin in Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations I-1566, 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000. Colman, S.M., McCalpin, J.P., Ostenaa, D.A., and Kirkham, R.M., 1985, Map showing upper Cenozoic rocks and deposits and Quaternary faults, Rio Grande Rift, south-central Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations I-1594, 2 sheets. Crone, A.J., and Machette, M.N., 2005, Paleoseismic activity on the Sangre de Cristo fault near San Luis, Colorado: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 558. Crone, A.J., Machette, M.N., Bradley, L-A., Mahan, S.A., 2006, Data related to late Quaternary surface faulting on the Sangre de Cristo fault, Rito Seco site, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map SI-2955, 1 plate, https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2006/2955/. Gaca, J.R., and Karig, D.E., 1965, Gravity survey in the San Luis Valley area, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report. Huntley, D., 1976, Groundwater recharge to the aquifers of the northern San Luis Valley, Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation T-1864, 298 p. Huntley, D., 1976, Ground water recharge to aquifers of northern San Luis Valley, Colorado—A remote sensing investigation: Colorado School of Mines Remote Sensing Report v. 76-3, 247 p. Ingersoll, R.V., 2001, Structural and stratigraphic evolution of the Rio Grande Rift, northern New Mexico and southern Colorado: International Geology Review, v. 43, p. 687–891, doi:10.1080/00206810109465053. Kirkham, R.M., and Rogers, W.P., 1981, Earthquake potential in Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Bulletin 43, 171 p., 3 pls. Kirkham, R.M., Lufkin, J.L., Lindsay, N.R., and Dickens, K.E., 2004, Geologic map of the La Valley quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report OF04-08, scale 1:24,000. Kirkham, R.M., Shaver, K.C., Lindsay, N.R., and Wallace, A.R., 2003, Geologic map of the Taylor Ranch quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report OF03-15, scale 1:24,000. Kirkham, R.W., and Heimsoth, C., 2004, Geologic map of the Fort Garland SW quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report OF02-06, scale 1:24,000. Kluth, C.F., and Schaftenaar, C.H., 1994, Depth and geometry of the northern Rio Grande rift in the San Luis Basin, south-central Colorado, in Keller, G.R., and Cather, S.M., eds., Basins of the Rio Grande rift—Structure, stratigraphy, and tectonic setting: Geological Society of America Special Paper 291, p. 27-37. Machette, M.N., Thompson, R.A., and Drenth, B.J., 2008, Geologic map of the San Luis quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map SIM-2008-2963, scale 1:24,000. McCalpin, J., 1981, Quaternary geology and neotectonics of the west flank of the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, south-central Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 287 p. McCalpin, J.P., 1982, Quaternary geology and neotectonics of the west flank of the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, south-central Colorado: Colorado School of Mines Quarterly, v. 77, no. 3, p. 1-97. Ruleman, C.A., Crone, A.J., and Machette, M.N., 2008, Quaternary tectonics of the Central and Southern Sangre de Cristo fault system, southern Colorado and northern New Mexico [abs.]: Seismological Research Letters, v. 79, no. 2, p. 297. Ruleman, C., and Machette, M., 2007, An overview of the Sangre de Cristo fault system and new insights to interactions between Quaternary faults in the northern Rio Grande rift, in Machette, M.N., Coates, M.M., and Johnson, M.L., eds., 2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene field trip—Quaternary geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1193, p. 187–197. Ruleman, C.A., Thompson, R.A., Shroba, R.R., Anderson, M., Drenth, B.J., Rotzien, J., and Lyon, J., 2013, Late Miocene–Pleistocene evolution of a Rio Grande rift subbasin, Sunshine Valley–Costilla Plain, San Luis Basin, New Mexico and Colorado, in Hudson, M.R., and Grauch, V.J.S., eds., New perspectives on Rio Grande rift basins—From tectonics to groundwater: Geological Society of America Special Paper 494, p. 47–73, doi:10.1130/2013.2494(03) Ruleman, C., Shroba, R., and Thompson, R., 2007, Chapter C—Field trip day 3, Quaternary geology of Sunshine Valley and associated neotectonics along the Latir Peaks section of the Southern Sangre de Cristo fault zone, in Machette, M.N., Coates, M.M., and Johnson, M.L., eds., 2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene field trip—Quaternary geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1193, p. 111–133. Stoughton, D., 1977, Interpretation of seismic reflection data from the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, M.S. thesis T-1960, 100 p. Wallace, A.R., 1997, Geologic map of the Fort Garland quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2312-E. Wallace, A.R., 2004, Evolution of the southeastern San Luis Basin margin and the Culebra embayment, Rio Grande Rift, southern Colorado, in Brister, B., Bauer, P.W., Read, A.S., and Lueth, V.W., eds., Geology of the Taos region: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 55th Field Conference guidebook p. 181–192, https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/55/55_p0181_p0192.pdf. Wallace, A.R., and Machette, M.N., 2008, Revised geologic map of the Fort Garland quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map SIM-2008-2965, scale 1:24,000. Wallace, A.R., and Soulliere, S.J., 1996, Geologic map of the Ojito Peak quadrangle, Costilla County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2312-B, scale 1:24,000. Widmann, B.L., Kirkham, R.M., and Rogers, W.P., 1998, Preliminary Quaternary fault and fold map and database of Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-8, 331 p., 1 pl., scale 1:500,000. Witkind, I.J., 1976, Preliminary map showing known and suspected active faults in Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-154.