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1957 Gobi-Altay, Mongolia, earthquake as a prototype for southern California's most devastating earthquake

C. Bayarsayhan·A. Bayasgalan·B. Enhtuvshin·K.W. Hudnut·R.A. Kurushin·P. Molnar·M. Olziybat
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Abstract

The 1957 Gobi-Altay earthquake was associated with both strike-slip and thrust faulting, processes similar to those along the San Andreas fault and the faults bounding the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Los Angeles, California. Clearly, a major rupture either on the San Andreas fault north of Los Angeles or on the thrust faults bounding the Los Angeles basin poses a serious hazard to inhabitants of that area. By analogy with the Gobi-Altay earthquake, we suggest that simultaneous rupturing of both the San Andreas fault and the thrust faults nearer Los Angeles is a real possibility that amplifies the hazard posed by ruptures on either fault system separately.

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C. Bayarsayhan, A. Bayasgalan, B. Enhtuvshin, K.W. Hudnut, R.A. Kurushin, P. Molnar, M. Olziybat. 1996. 1957 Gobi-Altay, Mongolia, earthquake as a prototype for southern California's most devastating earthquake. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024%3C0579%3Agameaa%3E2.3.co%3B2

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