Hi-rez LiDAR is becoming readily available for Humboldt and Mendocino counties. It’s a geomorphologist’s dream. One can ID many features in the landscape: landslides, fault lineations, and distinct tectonic blocks within the Franciscan Complex. We started using it in conjunction with GIS and orthorectified historic aerial photos in the late ‘teens before I retired in ‘22.
The migrating Mendocino Triple Junction has left a strong imprint in the region. One aspect I found interesting is the distinct swing to the NW seen in the coastal faulting pattern and associated shift from strike slip to thrust north of the MTJ as the deformation front plows through this part of North America.
Yes, I've been really impressed by the detective work geomorphologists have done to track the migration! I especially liked this paper by Fiona Clubb and others (2020, Geology), looking at hillslope and channel morphology, which respond to uplift at different rates. https://doi.org/10.1130/G46939.1. It must be an exciting time to work in the field!
I’ll get a copy of this! I spent a lot of time in the Mattole River drainage.
Further inland in SE Humboldt and NE Mendocino counties (appx halfway east to the Sacramento Valley), there are numerous uplifted flat, relatively horizontal surfaces that are likely erosional remnants of the gentle topography that predated the arrival of the MTJ. LiDAR lets these old surfaces jump out of the map.
Another excellent summary about an interesting area of earthquakes. I think one reason that there is a gap in mapped faults is due to the denser forest cover in Northern California, at least on the coast side of the mountains.
Yes, I was wondering how much that might be a factor. I imagine that if there are distributed faults that are both not very active and don't have a lot of total offset, they might be pretty hard to find!
Hi-rez LiDAR is becoming readily available for Humboldt and Mendocino counties. It’s a geomorphologist’s dream. One can ID many features in the landscape: landslides, fault lineations, and distinct tectonic blocks within the Franciscan Complex. We started using it in conjunction with GIS and orthorectified historic aerial photos in the late ‘teens before I retired in ‘22.
The migrating Mendocino Triple Junction has left a strong imprint in the region. One aspect I found interesting is the distinct swing to the NW seen in the coastal faulting pattern and associated shift from strike slip to thrust north of the MTJ as the deformation front plows through this part of North America.
Hi-rez LiDAR is becoming readily available for Humboldt and Mendocino counties. It’s a geomorphologist’s dream. One can ID many features in the landscape: landslides, fault lineations, and distinct tectonic blocks within the Franciscan Complex. We started using it in conjunction with GIS and orthorectified historic aerial photos in the late ‘teens before I retired in ‘22.
The migrating Mendocino Triple Junction has left a strong imprint in the region. One aspect I found interesting is the distinct swing to the NW seen in the coastal faulting pattern and associated shift from strike slip to thrust north of the MTJ as the deformation front plows through this part of North America.
Yes, I've been really impressed by the detective work geomorphologists have done to track the migration! I especially liked this paper by Fiona Clubb and others (2020, Geology), looking at hillslope and channel morphology, which respond to uplift at different rates. https://doi.org/10.1130/G46939.1. It must be an exciting time to work in the field!
I’ll get a copy of this! I spent a lot of time in the Mattole River drainage.
Further inland in SE Humboldt and NE Mendocino counties (appx halfway east to the Sacramento Valley), there are numerous uplifted flat, relatively horizontal surfaces that are likely erosional remnants of the gentle topography that predated the arrival of the MTJ. LiDAR lets these old surfaces jump out of the map.
It’s a candy store up here!
Another excellent summary about an interesting area of earthquakes. I think one reason that there is a gap in mapped faults is due to the denser forest cover in Northern California, at least on the coast side of the mountains.
Yes, I was wondering how much that might be a factor. I imagine that if there are distributed faults that are both not very active and don't have a lot of total offset, they might be pretty hard to find!
Hi-rez LiDAR is becoming readily available for Humboldt and Mendocino counties. It’s a geomorphologist’s dream. One can ID many features in the landscape: landslides, fault lineations, and distinct tectonic blocks within the Franciscan Complex. We started using it in conjunction with GIS and orthorectified historic aerial photos in the late ‘teens before I retired in ‘22.
The migrating Mendocino Triple Junction has left a strong imprint in the region. One aspect I found interesting is the distinct swing to the NW seen in the coastal faulting pattern and associated shift from strike slip to thrust north of the MTJ as the deformation front plows through this part of North America.