Timing and slip for prehistoric earthquakes on the Superstition Mountain Fault, Imperial Valley, southern California

Trenches excavated across the Superstition Mountain fault in the Imperial Valley, California, have exposed evidence for four prehistorical earthquakes preserved in displaced lacustrine stratigraphy associated with ancient Lake Cahuilla. The presence of shoreline peat accumulations along with abundant detrital charcoal allows for high-precision age determination of some stratigraphic units, thereby providing constraints on the timing of three of the paleoearthquakes. These three events occurred within a 480- to 820-year interval during the past 1200 years. The most recent earthquake (event 1) occurred during a fluvial phase of deposition between A.D. 1440-1637, immediately prior to the inundation of the Cahuilla basin at about A.D. 1480 and 1660. A channel margin was offset 2.2 +0.4/-0.15 m in this rupture, suggesting an earthquake with a magnitude greater than or equal to 7. The penultimate event (event 2) also occurred during fluvial deposition after A.D. 1280 but before another lakestand at A.D. 1440-1640. Lateral slip could not be resolved for event 2. However, based on juxtaposition of dissimilar units and the amount of deformation produced by this event, it is presumed that this was also a large earthquake. The timing of event 3 is constrained to have occurred between about A.D. 820 and 1280. This event is represented by several fractures and small displacements that rupture up to a distinct stratigraphic level or event horizon. Slip was not resolved for this event. Finally, the timing of event 4 is very poorly constrained to between A.D. 964 and 4670 B.C. Undoubtedly, many events may have occurred during this period. Notably, the past three earthquakes occurred within a period of less than 820 years, and it has been over 350 years since the last earthquake.