32 Recent Advances in the Gulf of California Oblique Rift: Offshore and Onshore Studies // Avances Recientes en el Rift Oblicuo del Golfo de California: Estudios Marinos y Terrestres (Part II)

This session highlights recent research on the Gulf of California–Salton Trough plate boundary from ~12 Ma to today. We welcome terrestrial and marine studies involving tectonics, basin analysis, volcanology, sedimentology, and more. English or Spanish.

Friday, 24 April 2026
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LMH, Fiesta Terrace Salon

Imaging a Cross-Basin Fault in the Salton Trough: New 2D seismic observations from the Riito and North of the Altar Basins.

Paper number: 32-10
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:20 AM – 11:40 AM

Authors

  • Simón Reyes Presenting Author
    Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Arceo Lázaro
    Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Mario González-Escobar
    Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Cristian Gallegos
    Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California

Abstract

The Salton Trough comprises a series of complex basins and faults associated with the oblique rift tectonic margin of the Gulf of California. However, the structural linkage between the Mexicali Valley and the Altar Basin remains unclear. Analogue and numerical models of oblique rifts frequently predict the development of two depocenters separated by a cross-basin fault.

In this study, we analyze 2D seismic profiles from the border region between these basins and identify such a structure. Our interpretation reveals the presence of the Riito Basin, which is separated from the northern Altar Basin by a cross-basin fault. We propose that this fault connects the western edge of the Calipatria Deformation Zone with the Cerro Prieto Deformation Zone, providing a new structural link between these major domains

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026CD-410796

© Copyright 2026 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.