Evidence for a buried fault system in the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas and Virginia--Implications for neotectonics in the southeastern United States

Abstract

Research Article| February 01, 2000 Evidence for a buried fault system in the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas and Virginia—Implications for neotectonics in the southeastern United States Ronald T. Marple; Ronald T. Marple 1Geosignal, 11111 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77082 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Pradeep Talwani Pradeep Talwani 2Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Ronald T. Marple 1Geosignal, 11111 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77082 Pradeep Talwani 2Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208 Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 08 Aug 1998 Revision Received: 01 Jun 1999 Accepted: 15 Jun 1999 First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2000) 112 (2): 200–220. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2000)112<200:EFABFS>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 08 Aug 1998 Revision Received: 01 Jun 1999 Accepted: 15 Jun 1999 First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Ronald T. Marple, Pradeep Talwani; Evidence for a buried fault system in the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas and Virginia—Implications for neotectonics in the southeastern United States. GSA Bulletin 2000;; 112 (2): 200–220. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2000)112<200:EFABFS>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Geomorphic, geologic, and geophysical data suggest the presence of an ∼600-km-long, north-northeast–trending buried fault system in the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas and Virginia, herein named the East Coast fault system. The East Coast fault system is expressed by anomalous changes in fluvial geomorphology that locally coincide with one or more of the following features: linear aeromagnetic anomalies, buried faults interpreted from seismic reflection data, surface faults offsetting Pliocene–Pleistocene surficial units, locally brecciated phyllites and argillites, gently upwarped sediments, topographic highs, and seismicity near Summerville, South Carolina.River anomalies where the rivers traverse unconsolidated upper Pleistocene–Holocene flood-plain sediments are evidence of deformation along the East Coast fault system during the past 130 to 10 k.y. which may be ongoing. The fault system traverses the epicentral area of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake and lies west of paleoliquefaction sites along the outer South Carolina Coastal Plain; thus, the fault system could be the source of the Charleston earthquake and other large prehistoric earthquakes. Therefore, confirmation and demarcation of the East Coast fault system and elucidation of its history will help better assess seismic hazards in the southeastern United States. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.