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Geology; August 2008; v. 36; no. 8; p. 647-650; DOI: 10.1130/G25039A.1
© 2008 Geological Society of America
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Strain rates and contemporary deformation in the Snake River Plain and surrounding Basin and Range from GPS and seismicity

Suzette J. Payne1, Robert McCaffrey2 and Robert W. King3

1 Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415-2025, USA
2 GNS Science, 1 Fairway Drive, P.O. Box 30368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
3 Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

We used new horizontal global positioning system (GPS) velocities along with earthquakes, faults, and volcanic features to assess how strain is accommodated in the northern Basin and Range Province. We estimated horizontal velocities for 132 stations within the Snake River Plain and the surrounding Basin and Range from GPS phase data collected from 1994 to 2007. These velocities show regional-scale clockwise rotation suggestive of driving forces beyond those associated with the Yellowstone hotspot. Within the western Centennial tectonic belt, the GPS measurements indicate that the Basin and Range is extending at a rate an order of magnitude greater than the Snake River Plain, which explains its low seismicity. Between these two regions, we discern the "Centennial shear zone," a NE-trending zone of right-lateral shear with estimated slip rates that increase northeastward from 0.9 ± 0.3 mm/yr in the SW to 1.7 ± 0.2 mm/yr in NE. We interpret the new GPS velocities to indicate: (1) right-lateral shear may be accommodated by strike-slip earthquakes on NE-trending faults in the Centennial shear zone; (2) three Basin and Range faults (Lost River, Lemhi, and Beaverhead) terminate at the Snake River Plain margin; and (3) extension in the Snake River Plain occurs at a much lower rate than the rate of normal faulting in the western Centennial tectonic belt.

Key Words: GPS • strain rates • continental extension • Snake River Plain • Yellowstone hotspot • Basin and Range






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