Basin structure beneath the Santa Rosa Plain, Northern California: Implications for damage caused by the 1969 Santa Rosa and 1906 San Francisco earthquakes

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
By: , and 

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Abstract

Regional gravity data in the northern San Francisco Bay region reflect a complex basin configuration beneath the Santa Rosa plain that likely contributed to the significant damage to the city of Santa Rosa caused by the 1969 M 5.6, 5.7 Santa Rosa earthquakes and the 1906 M 7.9 San Francisco earthquake. Inversion of these data indicates that the Santa Rosa plain is underlain by two sedimentary basins about 2 km deep separated by the Trenton Ridge, a shallow west-northwest-striking bedrock ridge west of Santa Rosa. The city of Santa Rosa is situated above the 2- km-wide protruding northeast corner of the southern basin where damage from both the 1969 and 1906 earthquakes was concentrated. Ground-motion simulations of the 1969 and 1906 earthquakes, two events with opposing azimuths, using the gravity- defined basin surface, show enhanced ground motions along the northeastern edge of this corner, suggesting that basin-edge effects contributed to the concentration of shaking damage in this area in the past and may also contribute to strong shaking during future earthquakes.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Basin structure beneath the Santa Rosa Plain, Northern California: Implications for damage caused by the 1969 Santa Rosa and 1906 San Francisco earthquakes
Series title Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
DOI 10.1785/0120060269
Volume 97
Issue 5
Year Published 2007
Language English
Publisher Seismological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Description 9 p.
First page 1449
Last page 1457
Country United States
State California
Other Geospatial Santa Rosa Plain
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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