Exposure of the Genoa Fault, California USA

Exposure of the Genoa Fault, California, USA

The Genoa fault was exposed by
mining works of a quarry. The
fault was found between a thick
sedimentary layer and granite and
consists the Western boundary of
the Sierra Nevada fault. As it is
generally the case, the fault plane
was totally grounded up. The fault
plane has a strike of 350degrees
and a dip of 52 degrees to the
East. This normal fault is
considered to be active. The
sedimentary rock is coarse alluvial
sediment formed in an alluvial
environment. It is also estimated
that the granite has come to the
surface from a depth of 30km due
to tectonic activity in the region.

In the figure you can see the
fault plane as exposed by the
quarry. The black lines, which are
parallel to the topography, show
clearly the change in inclination of
the slope because of the change
of the ground material and that is
a very important observation
when trying to locate a fault.

References:

Information collected during the field trip in the Sierra Nevada, as part of the "Engineering
Geology" course curriculum, instructed by Professor N. Sitar, Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering, University of California at Berkeley.

available by the geoengineer website

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