Greenville fault zone, Clayton section (Class A) No. 53a
Last Review Date: 2002-06-25
Compiled in cooperation with the California Geological Survey
citation for this record: Bryant, W.A., and Cluett, S.E., compilers, 2002, Fault number 53a, Greenville fault zone, Clayton section, in Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey website, https://earthquakes.usgs.gov/hazards/qfaults, accessed 05/07/2024 04:20 PM.
| Synopsis |
General:
Historically active dextral strike-slip faults located in the Diablo Range. Minor surface fault rupturing was associated with the January 1980 Livermore Valley earthquakes (Bonilla and others, 1980 #5366; Hart and others, 1980 #5376; Bolt and others, 1981 #5365). Most of the fault trace is based on geologic and geomorphic evidence from detailed reconnaissance-level mapping by Herd (1977 #5364), Dibblee (1980 #5335, 1980 #5370, 1980 #5371, 1980 #5372), Hart (1981 #5375), and Earth Sciences Associates (1982 #5374) as reported in Wright and others (1982 #5357). Trench investigations along the Marsh Creek-Greenville section [53b] document latest Pleistocene and Holocene displacement. Partial late Quaternary slip rates of 0.1–0.7 mm/yr have been reported by Wright and others (1982 #5357) and Sweeney (1982 #5361). Unruh and Sawyer (1995 #5339, 1998 #5360) suggested that the late Quaternary slip rate might be as high as 3 mm/yr on the basis of structural modeling. Sawyer and Unruh (2002 #5362) calculated a Holocene dextral slip rate of 4.1±1.8 mm/yr at the Laughlin Road site. Sections: This fault has 4 sections. Wright and others (1982 #5357) defined three segments based on differences in geomorphic expression of the fault zone and different apparent ages of activity. From north to south these segments include the Clayton, Marsh Creek-Greenville, and Arroyo Mocho segments. Unruh and Sawyer (1998 #5360) defined four sections based on differences in geomorphic expression and structural character of the fault zone. From north to south their sections are named Livermore, Arroyo Mocho, San Antonio Valley, and Coyote Creek. The Livermore section of Unruh and Sawyer (1998 #5360) mostly corresponds with the southern Marsh Creek-Greenville segment of Wright and others; the Arroyo Mocho section of Unruh and Sawyer (1998 #5360) generally corresponds with the Arroyo Mocho segment of Wright and others (1982 #5357). The Coyote Creek section of Unruh and Sawyer (1998 #5360) is not considered here because Quaternary displacement has not been demonstrated. |
| Name comments |
General: The fault was first mapped by Vickery (1925 #5359), who named it the Riggs Canyon fault. Huey (1948 #5363) was the first to use the name Greenville fault for traces along the eastern side of the Livermore Valley. The Greenville fault zone includes traces of the Marsh Creek and Clayton faults, which were first mapped by Colburn (1961 #5369) and named by Brabb and others (1971 #5368). Colburn (1961 #5369) named the structure along the northeastern side of Mount Diablo the Mount Diablo fault. Section: Defined as the Clayton segment by Wright and others (1982 #5357). This fault was first mapped by Colburn (1961 #5369), who named it the Mt. Diablo fault. Brabb and others (1971 #5368) renamed this structure the Clayton fault. Bortugno and Wagner (1991 #5367) and Jennings (1994 #2878) also continued the use of the name Clayton fault. The section extends from the vicinity of Black Diamond Road in the southeastern part of Concord southeast to the vicinity of Morgan Territory Road, where the section boundary is marked by an approximately 6-km left-restraining step-over to the Marsh Creek-Greenville section [53b]. |
| County(s) and State(s) |
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA |
| Physiographic province(s) |
PACIFIC BORDER |
| Reliability of location |
Good Compiled at 1:62,500 scale. Comments: Location is based on digital revisions to Jennings (1994 #2878) using original mapping of Clayton fault by Colburn (1961 #5369), and Dibblee (1980 #5335; 1980 #5370) at a scale of 1:24,000, and by Brabb and others (1971 #5368) at a scale of 1:62,500.
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| Geologic setting |
This dextral strike-slip fault zone borders the eastern side of Livermore Valley and is considered to be part of the larger San Andreas fault system in the central Coast Ranges. The fault zone extends from northwest of Livermore Valley along the Marsh Creek and Clayton faults towards Clayton Valley. Unruh and Sawyer (1995 #5339, 1998 #5360) suggested that slip from the Greenville fault is transferred to the Concord fault [38] along the Mt. Diablo fold and thrust belt and that only minimal slip continues to the Clayton fault [53a]. The fault zone extends southeastward into San Antonio Valley, offsets late Mesozoic rocks of the Franciscan Complex. Southeast of Livermore Valley the fault is located within the uplifted Diablo Range and controls the generally linear drainage course of Arroyo Mocho, Colorado, and Sweetwater Creeks. Maximum dextral displacement along the Greenville fault zone is about 8.5–9 km, based on 9 km of dextral offset of a late Mesozoic serpentinite body and about 8.5 km dextral offset of the Tesla fault (Cotton, 1972 #5348; Sweeney, 1982 #5361).
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| Length (km) | This section is 16 km of a total fault length of 91 km. |
| Average strike | N40°W (for section) versus N30°W (for whole fault) |
| Sense of movement |
Right lateral
Comments: Wright and others (1982 #5357) reported that displacement in trench excavations generally indicated a northeast-dipping reverse fault. The surface trace of the fault mapped by Dibblee (1980 #5335), (1980 #5370) indicates a northeast-dipping fault, although Dibblee did not indicate a sense of movement for this fault. Colburn (1961 #5369) reported that the Mount Diablo fault (Clayton section) is characterized by as much as 6 km of NE-side up vertical displacement, with an unknown but probably smaller amount of dextral strike-slip displacement.
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| Dip |
75° NE.
Comments: Wright and others (1982 #5357) reported that trench excavations across the Clayton fault showed dips that varied from 23° to 75°. Colburn (1961 #5369) inferred the dip at depth to be between 75° and 80°, based on the configuration of the surface trace. It is assumed that a dip of 75° represents the fault at depth.
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| Paleoseismology studies |
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| Geomorphic expression |
The Clayton section generally is poorly defined and Wright and others (1982 #5357) reported that fault-related topographic features are poorly developed and differ significantly from the Marsh Creek-Greenville segment [section 53b]. Colburn (1961 #5369) reported that the Clayton section is generally characterized by subdued saddles and subdued hill fronts.
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| Age of faulted surficial deposits | Woodward-Lundgren (1974 #5358) reported that landslide deposits they estimated to be of probable late Holocene age are offset by traces of the Clayton fault. Generally, however, the fault offsets Cretaceous and some Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Locally, traces of the fault are concealed by late Holocene alluvial deposits (Brabb and others, 1971 #5368; Dibblee, 1980 #5335; 1980 #5370) and trench investigations in Clayton Valley (reported in Wright and others, 1982 #5357) have not shown evidence of Holocene displacement. |
| Historic earthquake | |
| Most recent prehistoric deformation |
latest Quaternary (<15 ka)
Comments: Bortugno and Wagner (1991 #5367) show the Clayton fault has Holocene active, based on evidence reported in Wright and others (1982 #5357).
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| Recurrence interval |
Comments: Wright and others (1982 #5357) estimated a recurrence of about 3.3 k.y. based on an assumed ML 6.25 earthquake, an estimated slip rate of 0.1-0.2 mm/yr, and an assumed 0.4 m slip per event. |
| Slip-rate category |
Between 0.2 and 1.0 mm/yr
Comments: A late Quaternary slip rate has not been determined for the Clayton section of the Greenville fault. Wright and others (1982 #5357) reported a long-term horizontal deformation rate of 0.1–0.2 mm/yr based on about 1.7 km dextral displacement of Tertiary rocks during the past 10–15 m.y., and the geomorphic expression of this section is suggestive of a fault with a modest late Quaternary slip rate. On the basis of structural modeling, Unruh and Sawyer (1995 #5339) infer that slip is transferred to the Concord [38] fault to the northwest across the Mt. Diablo fold and thrust belt. They argue that recent displacement along the Clayton section dies out north of Livermore Valley. |
| Date and Compiler(s) |
2002
William A. Bryant, California Geological Survey Sereyna E. Cluett, California Geological Survey |
| References |
#5365 Bolt, B.A., McEvilly, T.V., and Uhrhammer, R.A., 1981, The Livermore Valley, California, earthquake sequence of January 1980: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 71, no. 2, p. 451-463. #5366 Bonilla, M.G., Lienkaemper, J.J., and Tinsley, J.C., 1980, Surface faulting near Livermore, California, associated with the January 1980 earthquakes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-523, 32 p. #5367 Bortugno, E.J., McJunkin, R.D., and Wagner, D.L., 1991, Map showing recency of faulting, San Francisco-San Jose quadrangle, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Regional Geologic Map Series, Map 5A, Sheet 5, scale 1:250,000. #5368 Brabb, E.E., Sonneman, H.S., and Switzer, J.R., Jr., 1971, Preliminary geologic map for the Mt. Diablo-Byron area, Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Joaquin Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Basic Data Contribution 28, scale 1:62,500. #5369 Colburn, I.P., 1961, The tectonic history of Mount Diablo, California: Stanford University, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 234 p. #5348 Cotton, W.R., 1972, Preliminary geologic map of the Franciscan rocks in the central part of the Diablo Range, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-343 (Basic Data Contribution 39), 2 sheets, scale 1:62,500. #5335 Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1980, Preliminary geologic map, Clayton quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-547. #5370 Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1980, Preliminary geologic map of the Tassajara quadrangle, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Map 80-544, scale 1:24,000. #5371 Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1980, Preliminary geologic map of the Byron Hot Springs quadrangle, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Map 80-534, scale 1:24,000. #5372 Dibblee, T.W., Jr., 1980, Preliminary geologic map of the Altamont quadrangle, Alameda County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Map 80-538, scale 1:24,000. #5374 Earth Sciences Associates, 1982, Seismotectonic study of Contra Loma dam and vicinity: Final Report to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Colorado. #5375 Hart, E.W., 1981, Recently active strands of the Greenville fault, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara Counties, California: California Division of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 81-8, scale 1:24,000. #5376 Hart, E.W., Bedrossian, T., and Ridley, A., 1980, Greenville fault, east Livermore Valley: California Division of Mines and Geology, field trip guide, April 12, 1980, p. 9. #5364 Herd, D.G., 1977, Geologic map of the Las Positas, Greenville, and Verona faults, eastern Alameda County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-689, 25 p., scale 1:24,000. #5363 Huey, A.S., 1948, Geology of the Tesla quadrangle, California: California Division of Mines Bulletin 140, 5 p., 3 pls. #2878 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. #4860 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. #5362 Sawyer, T.L., and Unruh, J.R., 2002, Paleoseismic investigation of the Holocene slip rate on the Greenville fault, eastern San Francisco Bay area, California: U.S. Geological Survey Final Technical Report for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Award # 00HQGR0055, 24 p., 1 pl. #5361 Sweeney, J.J., 1982, Magnitudes of slip along the Greenville fault in the Diablo Range and Corral Hollow areas, in Hart, E.W., and others, eds., Proceedings, Conference on earthquake hazards in the eastern San Francisco Bay area: California Division of Mines and Geology Special Publication 62, p.137-146. #5339 Unruh, J.R., and Sawyer, T.L., 1995, Late Cenozoic growth of the Mt. Diablo fold and thrust belt, central Contra Costa County, California, and implications for transpressional deformation of the northern Diablo Range [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1995 Pacific Section Convention Abstracts, 47 p. #5360 Unruh, J.R., and Sawyer, T.L., 1998, Paleoseismic investigation of the northern Greenville fault, eastern San Francisco Bay Area, California: U.S. Geological Survey Final Technical Report for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Award # 1434-HQ-97-GR-03146, 34 p., 8 maps, scale 1:24,000. #5359 Vickery, F.P., 1925, The structural dynamics of the Livermore region: Journal of Geology, v. 33, p. 608-628. #5358 Woodward-Lundgren, and Associates, 1974, Fault and landslide evaluation of Keller Ranch, Contra Costa County, California: Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Oakland, California for E.V. Schulhauser and Associates, Inc., 15 p., Appendices A and B, Project No. S-12834B. |