Hi All. I had heard about this fault a couple of years ago, but could never find any information about it until now. As a matter of fact I didn’t even know its name. I first became interested in thrust faults because there locations are not well know, nor is the quake history of them that well known.

It seems that one of the most dangerous Bay Area thrust faults, because of its location near an urban area, is the Monte Vista fault on the western side of the Santa Clara Valley. However, this fault has a long recurrence interval for large earthquakes - on the order of several thousand years. As with other thrust faults, it is know generally where the fault is located, but it is difficult to identify the actual surface trace.

It is estimated that an earthquake on the Monte Vista fault might generate 15,000 uninhabitable housing units, almost as many as the Loma Prieta earthquake. Notably, 13,500 would be in Santa Clara County, making it as damaging in the county as a magnitude 7.3 on the entire Hayward fault.

The most active thrust fault in the Bay Area is the Mt. Diablo thrust fault. This fault has made Mt. Diablo the fastest growing mountain in the Bay Area.

Each of the seven Great Valley faults identified along the northern section of the San Joaquin Valley are also thrust faults. The location and size of earthquakes generated by the Great Valley faults are less well understood than for the Monte Vista. The recurrence intervals for earthquakes on segments of this fault system are approximately 500-600 years, but this estimate is uncertain. The Vacaville and Winters quakes of 1892 were caused by one of the segments of the Great Valley fault. The Coalinga quake was also caused by a segment of the Great Valley fault, but that segment is located in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley.

If it isn’t one thing it’s another. Oh Well. I live in earthquake country so why should I be surprised about another fault that is not well known. I have 11 of those within an hour’s drive of where I live. Take Care…Don in creepy town