Tag Archive for: earthquakes

If you missed it a couple of weeks ago, here is an article outlining the paleoseismic study some of our UGS geologists helped with on a trench.

nextcity.org

Not far from I-215 in Salt Lake City, near the airport, a deep trench cuts through the earth. Though it looks like a sewer repair project, there’s nothing down here but dirt. And dirt, to the trained eye, can reveal quite a bit about a city’s future.

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The USSC is the central state organization for reducing Utah’s earthquake risk by coordinating efforts, developing public policy, and disseminating results. Here you can find a large earthquake Salt Lake City scenario, and helpful booklet “Putting Down Roots” on preparing for earthquakes. Use the search to find all other USSC documents including photographs and PDFs. Visit the website HERE to help make a plan with your family and friends!

Other helpful links:
Where to Find Earthquake Information
Putting Down Roots PDF

Here are a few more great articles highlighting the work some of our geologists have done towards recent earthquake research in the Salt Lake Valley:

kutv.com

Scientists help builders, planners prepare for Utah’s big quake

Utah’s seismic scientists are sounding a warning about impending earthquakes in Utah. They say Utah is not prepared for a major earthquake even though science tells us it is when, not if, one will hit the Wasatch front.

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fox13now.com

Experts suggest Utah unprepared for possibility of powerful earthquake

Experts say the state of Utah is not prepared for a big earthquake, and seismologists at the Earthquake Research Institute predict if a 7.0-magnitude quake hit the Wasatch Fault Line it would cost the state about $33 billion in economic losses.

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good4utah.com

Utah not ready for a major earthquake

A new study says Utah is not ready for a major earthquake.

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UGS geologists conducting a trench investigation to gather fault and earthquake data.

Take a quick minute today on your afternoon break to think about earthquake preparedness. What have you done around your home to help relieve potential damage from a large earthquake? Have you talked to your family and friends, do you have an action plan if an earthquake occurs?

A team of geologists, including some of our very own Utah Geological Survey geologists, have been studying the Taylorsville-West Valley City fault over the last couple of weeks. They hope to gain a better understanding of the fault’s ability to produce large earthquakes, and if that fault tends to rupture with or without the Wasatch Fault. Below are a couple of articles outlining all of their hard work and findings!

deseretnews.com

Geologists sample Taylorsville-West Valley fault line to study earthquake risk

A team of geologists has dug a 150-foot trench by the Salt Lake City International Airport to study the Taylorsville-West Valley City fault, and its rock samples will help scientists forecast when the next major earthquake could erupt along the Wasatch fault.

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ksl.com

Utahns ‘lulled into a false sense of security’ in earthquake prep

A team of geologists has dug a 150-foot trench by the Salt Lake City International Airport to study the Taylorsville-West Valley City fault, and its rock samples will help scientists forecast when the next major earthquake could erupt along the Wasatch fault.

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A wonderful resource for earthquake safety and preparedness has just been released. The report was developed by the Utah Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and was prepared for the Utah Seismic Safety Commission.

The Scenario for a Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake on the Wasatch Fault-Salt Lake City Segment: Hazards and Loss Estimates report provides information about the effects of the Wasatch fault scenario earthquake-in particular, how long it may take the state of Utah and its residents to fully recover and the potential long-term impacts on Utah’s economy. The ultimate goal of this report is to catalyze public and private actions that will increase pre-disaster resiliency through earthquake preparedness-being prepared to WITHSTAND, to RESPOND, and to RECOVER.

Follow this link to obtain a PDF copy HERE!

UGS geologists conducting a trench investigation to gather fault and earthquake data.

We hope you all had an enjoyable and safe long Labor Day weekend! Here’s a little story for the Tuesday morning catchup. A research team, including some of our UGS geologists, are studying a portion of the Taylorsville-West Valley City Fault to gain a better sense of past earthquakes on the fault. Read more!

fox13now.com

A research team is digging up a portion of the Taylorsville-West Valley City Fault out by the Salt Lake City International Airport, and their goal is to get a better sense of the danger from that fault and how big of an earthquake it could create.

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kuer.org

Northern Utah is due for a major earthquake. Seismologists can’t predict exactly when the Big One might happen, but they have been looking at the hazards Utah is likely to face.

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phys.org

Much of what we understand about earthquakes is based on plate tectonics. But for residents of Utah’s seismically restless Wasatch Front, a 120-mile-long metropolitan region anchored by Salt Lake City and bounded by the steep Wasatch Mountains and Great Salt Lake, such theory has fundamental limitations.

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nationalgeographic.com

More than 143 million Americans live in an earthquake zone, a new analysis shows, though many of them may be surprised to learn that dangerous shaking is possible in the places where they live.

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smithsonianmag.com

Some boulders defy gravity. Despite balancing on other rocks in the midst of fault lines, they stay precariously perched — thanks in part to those fault lines brushing up against each other, geologists report in the journal Seismological Research Letters.

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