Appendix I

The San Andreas fault zone has been a very significant source of major California earthquakes. From 1812 to 1906 it generated four major earthquakes of M ~7 or larger in two pairs on two major portions of the fault. A pair of major earthquakes occurred on the central to southern region, where the 1857 faulting overlapped the 1812 earthquake faulting. A pair of major earthquakes occurred on the northern region, where the 1906 faulting overlapped the 1838 earthquake faulting.

Changes since 1855 in reported section-line lengths and positions of survey monuments that span the San Andreas fault (SAF) were used to measure displacement interpreted to be from the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake in south-central California. In 1855–1856 James E. Freeman established township and range lines across the SAF between Rancho Cholame and the northern Carrizo Plain. At least 26 1-mile sections lines spanned the SAF in the area between present-day California Highways 46 and 58. Each section line was marked by monuments at the midpoint and endpoints.

We conducted paleoseismic studies in a closed depression along the San Andreas fault on the north flank of Frazier Mountain near Frazier Park, California. We recognized two earthquake ruptures in our trench exposure and interpreted the most recent rupture, event 1, to represent the historical 1857 earthquake.

A paleoseismic study conducted along the Cholame segment of the San Andreas fault provides evidence for three earthquakes and the amount of lateral offset for the most recent event (1857 Fort Tejon earthquake).

The Wells and Coppersmith (1994) M–log A data set for continental earthquakes (where M is moment magnitude and A is fault area) and the regression lines derived from it are widely used in seismic hazard analysis for estimating M, given A. Their relations are well determined, whether for the full data set of all mechanism types or for the subset of strike-slip earthquakes.

We develop recommendations for design spectra at two sites, one in the Mojave desert, California, and the second at Columbia, South Carolina. These sites were chosen because local, small earthquakes dominate the high frequencies (f⩾10 Hz), but large distant events dominate the low frequencies (f⩽1 Hz).

We conducted a paleoseismic study on the San Andreas fault (SAF) southeast of Cholame, California, to investigate the record of earthquakes along an 80-km paleoseismic data gap between Parkfield and the Carrizo Plain.

North–south-striking and west-dipping Basin and Range province normal faults form the western edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental plateau in northeastern Sonora.

Sieh and Jahns (1984) forecasted that the next moderate Parkfield earthquake might trigger a major earthquake along a fault segment greater than 30 km long southeast of Cholame. Their forecast assumed (1) the slip was 3–4 m in 1857 and characteristic of the segment; (2) a slip rate of 3.4 cm/yr; and (3) full strain release in earthquakes.

Recommendations for seismic design ground motions for nuclear facilities require a consistency with both observed strong motion data and with seismological theory on the characteristics of strong shaking. Different recommendations are appropriate for various regions of the US, because both earthquake source characteristics differ and the earth's crustal properties vary with region.