38 Plate Boundary Evolution and Lithospheric Dynamics of Western North America (Posters)

We invite presentations on Cenozoic tectonics, volcanism, sedimentation, and geohazards offshore and along the margin of western North America. Example topics include crustal structure, mantle processes, triple-junction migration, paleomagnetism, active faulting, marine stratigraphy, and seismicity.

Friday, 24 April 2026
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
LMH, 5th Floor Chapel

Vertical Offset and Recurrence of Large Earthquakes on the Cañada David Detachment, Baja California, Mexico

Paper number: 38-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

  • Jaziel Cambron Presenting Author
    Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico
  • John Fletcher
    Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Ignacio Garcia Meza
    Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Thomas Rockwell
    San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
  • Ronald Spelz
    Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Alejandro Hinojosa-Corona
    Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Javier Helenes
    CICESE, Departmento de Geologia, , Ensenada, Baja California
  • Napoleon Gudiño-Murcia
    Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  • Pierre Lacan
    Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla , Queretaro
  • Ivan Peña-Villa
    CICESE, Departmento de Geologia, Ensenada, México
  • Luis Guerrero Murcia
    CICESE, Departmento de Geologia, ATTN: Exhibits Manager, Ensenada, Baja California

Abstract

Low-angle normal faults are central to extensional tectonics yet remain controversial because their orientation is unfavorable for slip under Andersonian stress conditions, and large earthquakes on active examples are rarely documented. To address this debate, we investigate the Late Quaternary earthquake record of the Cañada David detachment in northern Baja California, Mexico. Using drone-based photogrammetry (~160 km²), high-resolution orthomosaics, and digital surface models (11–15 cm), we mapped fault scarps and alluvial fan sequences along the Cañon Rojo–Chupamirtos fault system, a major strand of the Cañada David detachment. From ninety-nine topographic profiles, we quantified vertical displacements on successive fan surfaces, revealing systematic variations in offset with fan age and fault orientation. Correlations with paleoseismic trench data show that the Cañada David detachment hosted 15–27 large (~M7) earthquakes over the past ~60,000 years, with ~2,000-year recurrence intervals, often co-rupturing with the Laguna Salada fault. Although our results confirm that low-angle normal faults are fully capable of generating major earthquakes, such events may be difficult to identify because they may involve co-rupture with adjacent faults of distinct orientations or nucleation on steeper down-dip segments as predicted by the rolling-hinge model.

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

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026CD-411000

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