Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Insights Into Distributed Plate Rates Across The Walker Lane From Gps Geodesy, Zachery M. Lifton, Andrew V. Newman, Kurt L. Frankel, Christopher W. Johnson, Timothy H. Dixon

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Contemporary geodetic slip rates are observed to be approximately two times greater than late Pleistocene geologic slip rates across the southern Walker Lane. Using a dense GPS network, we compare the present‐day crustal velocities to observed geologic slip rates in the region. We find that the Walker Lane is characterized by a smooth transition from westward extension in the Basin and Range to northwestward motion of the Sierra Nevada block. The GPS velocity field indicates that (1) plate parallel (N37°W) velocities define a velocity differential of 10.6 ± 0.5 mm/yr between the western Basin and Range and the Sierra Nevada …