Holocene slip rate of the Wasatch fault zone, Utah, from geodetic data: Earthquake cycle effects

Abstract

GPS data define a broad zone of present day deformation in the eastern Basin and Range province, western US. Using finite element models with elastic upper crust over viscoelastic lower crust/upper mantle and incorporating earthquake cycle effects, we show that these data are consistent with a model whereby most contemporary fault slip is focused on the Wasatch fault zone. Modeled rates of horizontal extension are 3.0–4.5 mm/yr, in agreement with Holocene geologic data. The models are non‐unique, in part because much of the Wasatch fault is in the late stages of the earthquake cycle, when surface velocity gradients across the fault are low.