Wasatch Fault, Nephi, Utah
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
These photos were taken on a Geological Society of America field trip, October 15, 2005, run by Ron Bruhn, Christopher DuRoss, Ronald Harris and William Lund.
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| Above: large landslide along I-15 north of Nephi | Below: looking north along the Wasatch Fault. |
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Left: looking west from atop the scarp. Below: looking north along the Wasatch Fault. The Pleistocene alluvial fan is offset by about 20 meters. Rupture is estimated to have begun about 70,000 years ago. |
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Left and below: the deeper shadows at the base of the scarp show the slope is steeper there, possibly indicating more recent and rapid uplift. |
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Below: looking south along the fault. The older alluvium is eroded away here and the rupture in this Holocene fan amounts to about 6 meters. |
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Left and below: typical arid climate weathering textures in limestone. Etching and rough surface textures are characteristic. Note the crinoid stems in the cobble below. |
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Left and below: perfect lighting accentuates the scarp north of Nephi. Unfortunately, window reflections hinder the view. Fortunately, digital processing makes them a lot less prominent. |
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Reference
Bruhn, R. L., DuRoss, C. B., Harris, R. A., and Lund, W. R., 2005; Neotectonics and Paleoseismology of the Wasatch Fault, Utah, in Pedersen, J. and Dehler, C. M., eds., Interior Western United States: Geological Society of America Field Guide number 6, p. 231-250, doi: 10.1130/2005.fld006(11).
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Created 18 November 2005, Last Update 10 June 2020