The Gulf of California earthquakes today occurred in the plate boundary region between the North America and Pacific plate. At the latitude of the earthquake, the Pacific plate moves northwest with respect to the North America plate at about 45 mm/y. The plate boundary beneath the Gulf consists of a series of transform faults separated by small spreading centers or pull-apart basins: earthquakes occur as the result of strike-slip faulting and normal faulting.
The seismographically recorded radiation pattern of the main shock - 18:00 UTC - implies that the shock occurred as the result of strike-slip faulting, but the earthquake has not yet been associated with a specific geologically mapped fault.
The largest historically recorded shocks from the Gulf of California have had magnitudes of about 7.
Details
Time of Quake:
Monday, August 03, 2009 at 01:59:56 PM (EDT) - Eastern Daylight
Monday, August 03, 2009 at 10:59:56 AM (PDT) - California Time
Location: (for Google Earth fans)
29.066°N, 112.871°W
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Location: (+/- 7.1 km or 4.4 miles)
* 89 km (56 miles) NNE (31°) from Santa Isabel, Baja California, Mexico
* 137 km (85 miles) W (280°) from La Doce, Sonora, Mexico
* 174 km (108 miles) NE (46°) from Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico
* 185 km (115 miles) W (270°) from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
* 553 km (343 miles) SE (133°) from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
- 6.9 Richter - earthquake - Gulf of California
