Present‐Day Deformation Mechanism of the Northeastern Mina Deflection Revealed by the 2020 <i>M</i>_w 6.5 Monte Cristo Range Earthquake

Abstract

Abstract The 15 May 2020 Monte Cristo Range M w 6.5 earthquake occurred in the northeast of the Mina deflection, which accommodates approximately a quarter of the relatively dextral motion between the Pacific and North American plates. The Monte Cristo Range event provides an opportunity to study the present‐day regional deformation mechanism and active tectonics. In this study, we investigate the source rupture process of the event using joint inversion of interferometric synthetic aperture radar and broadband seismic data. We find that the rupture propagates almost simultaneously on two main segments. The fault motion changes from the predominantly sinistral slip near the epicenter on the eastern segment to the oblique slip on the western segment, with a maximum coseismic slip of 0.8 m. Our results suggest that the accommodation of slip transfer localized in the northeastern Mina deflection tends to transform from the wrench‐ to extension‐dominated transtension.