In 1954, the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

was struck by a series of

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s that began with three magnitude 6.0+ events in July and August that preceded the 7.1–7.3

mainshock In seismology, the mainshock is the largest earthquake in a sequence, sometimes preceded by one or more foreshocks, and almost always followed by many aftershocks. Foreshock A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic eve ...

and M 6.9 aftershock, both on December 12. All five earthquakes are among the largest in the state, and the largest since the Cedar Mountain earthquake (M 7.2) of 1932 and Pleasant Valley event ( 7.7) in 1915. The earthquake was felt throughout much of the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Geology

The state of Nevada sits within a geologic province known as the

Basin and Range Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

. The Basin and Range Province is bounded by the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...

Wasatch Fault The Wasatch Fault is an active fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho. The fault is about long, stretching from southern Idaho, through northern Utah, before terminating in cent ...

Rio Grande Rift The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone. It separates the Colorado Plateau in the west from the interior of the North American craton on the east. The rift extends from central Colorado in the north to the state of Chihua ...

and

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks h ...

. This region in the North American continent is

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

ing apart in a northwest–southeast direction.

Extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

of the crust has resulted in a

basin and range topography Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

, dominated by dip-slip (normal) faults accommodating extension. Fault block tilting has created many mountain ranges no more than 16 km wide and 130 km long. The movement of the Sierra Nevada Microplate to the northwest compared to the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...

's movement southwest creates a zone of N-S trending distributed faulting in central Nevada known as the Central Nevada Seismic Belt (CNSB). The CNSB is a network of low slip rate faults that have been active since at least the late

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

. This area has experienced multiple "beltlike" rupture patterns in the past 13,000 years, with the much more recent 1903 Wonder earthquake,

1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake The 1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake occurred at in north-central Nevada. With a moment magnitude of 6.8, a surface wave magnitude of 7.7, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''), it was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the s ...

1932 Cedar Mountain earthquake The Cedar Mountain earthquake of 1932 was one of the largest seismic events in the US state of Nevada. The 7.3 earthquake struck at Cedar Mountain in Western Nevada. Shaking was felt as far as Oregon, Southern California, and the Rocky Mountains ...

, and the 1934 Excelsior Mountain earthquakes having historical equivalents. In western Nevada, along the border with California, faulting mechanisms are dominantly strike-slip along a

shear zone In geology, a shear zone is a thin zone within the Earth's crust or upper mantle that has been strongly deformed, due to the walls of rock on either side of the zone slipping past each other. In the upper crust, where rock is brittle, the shear ...

known as the

Walker Lane The Walker Lane is a geologic trough roughly aligned with the California/Nevada border southward to where Death Valley intersects the Garlock Fault, a major left lateral, or sinistral, strike-slip fault. The north-northwest end of the Walker La ...

. These faults also causes earthquakes to rattle the state, making Nevada the third most seismically active state in the United States, behind

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Earthquake sequence

Rainbow Mountain earthquakes

The first earthquake within the sequence of numerous large shocks occurred on July 6. The event had a magnitude of 6.8 and its focal mechanism was oblique-slip along the Rainbow Mountain Fault. Rupture started at the very southern portion of the fault and propagated northeastward. Surface rupture was recorded. An aftershock of 6.2 struck just eleven hours after the M 6.8. Rupture was to the south of the Rainbow Mountain Fault scarp from the mainshock and had a larger strike slip component. It was situated at Salt Wells Marsh, next to the Austin Highway. The shock had a maximum intensity of IX–X, while the large aftershock had a maximum intensity of VIII on the

Modified Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

Stillwater earthquake

On August 24, an 6.6 earthquake with a similar mechanism struck north at the

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States in Nevada. It is located in the Lahontan Valley, near the community of Fallon, sixty miles east of Reno. It was established in 1949 and encompasses . The Stil ...

. Rupture started within the scarp created a month and a half earlier, but it propagated northward through it for a new of displacement. Surface rupture was measured for 33.1 km. The occurrence of three distinct subevents may explain the complexity of determining the method of faulting within the event. The maximum intensity for this earthquakes was IX (Violent). It damaged dams and irrigation facilities around Lovelock.

Fairview earthquake

On December 16 at 3:07a.m. PST, the largest earthquake in the sequence, the 7.3 earthquake was triggered by oblique-slip displacement along the Fairview Peak, West Gate and Gold King Fault, and Louderback Mountain Faults for a total length of 100 km, of which 14 km intersects the rupture zone of the 1932 Cedar Mountain earthquake. Along the Fairview fault, this event produced of dextral (right lateral) strike slip offset, as well as of vertical slipping offset.

Rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

measurements along fault scarps were 30° to 60°, with the average rake being closer to 60°. Strike slip offsets of over were recorded on the West Gate and Louderback Mountain faults, while less than 1 meter of normal faulting slip was found along the Gold King fault. In Bell Flat, 3.6 meters of normal slip was measured. Fault scarps of 7 meters in height were seen for 102 meters in the valley. A maximum height of 23 feet was measured for one scarp, attributed to scarp-altering processes such as landslides increasing the apparent height of the scarp. Shaking intensity from this earthquake reached X (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Fault offsets were reported in four zones across a 96 km by 32 km area. This earthquake was felt for an area of 518,000 square km. Disruption of local springs (decreased flow, increased flow, etc.),

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

and

mudflows A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...

, temporary mud and

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

, and a "patchwork" of

anastomosing An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be normal ...

secondary cracks all resulted from the earthquake.

Dixie Valley earthquake

Four minutes and 20 seconds after the Fairview earthquake, an 6.6–6.9 earthquake struck west of

Humboldt Salt Marsh The Humboldt Salt Marsh in the Humboldt Sink of northwestern Nevada is a wetland that is 1 of 2 salt marshes within the state (cf. Tonopah Wetland in the Tonopah Basin The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nev ...

along the Dixie Valley Fault Zone. This event ruptured a separate fault for 46.7 km with a maximum vertical slip of . Surface slip of over occurred along around of the Dixie Valley Fault, and the average slip along the entire rupture was .

Aftershocks

Numerous

aftershocks In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

were triggered in the wake of the earthquake including an 6.3 on March 23, 1959.

Aftermath

Numerous

fault scarp A fault scarp is a small step or offset on the ground surface where one side of a fault has moved vertically with respect to the other. It is the topographic expression of faulting attributed to the displacement of the land surface by movement al ...

s and offset stream channels were reported as a result of

surface rupture In seismology, surface rupture (or ground rupture, or ground displacement) is the visible offset of the ground surface when an earthquake rupture along a fault affects the Earth's surface. Surface rupture is opposed by buried rupture, where the ...

s. The July 6 earthquake caused some destruction in the town of Fallon. Old and poorly built, un-reinforced brick structures were severely damaged, and many chimneys fell as a result. Twelve sailors were injured at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station when shaking knocked heavy steel lockers and shattered glass onto them, the most serious injury was a broken leg. At Lone Tree and Stillwater District, some limited damage was reported, such as canals banks shifting nearly a meter as well as the bottoms being raised by a little over half a meter. Canals and drainage systems of the Newlands Reclamation Project near Fallon were damaged heavily due to liquefaction from dam failure. Many culverts were damaged or had collapsed. Highways in the Fallon-Stillwater areas cracked and buckled in some places. A road dropped nearly a meter for more than 300 meters.

President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

declared the region a disaster area and made available $200,000 of disaster relief funding. The August earthquake caused further destruction to Fallon; seven more structures had to be torn down due to the severity of the damage. More windows, water pipelines and chimneys were broken. The earthquake also totally wrecked repair works done after the July shock. The Rogers Dam in Lovelock suffered considerable damage. The December 16 main shocks frightened the residents of Fallon, many of them did not stay in their homes during the winter night. In Reno, the earthquake was felt strongly by many. Plasters fell from the Nevada State Capitol Building in

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

. Heavy furniture was dislodged but damage was minor in Frenchman Station. Fallon suffered only a few cracked chimneys. Fissures up to 30 inches wide opened in highways and the landscape. The earthquakes also triggered rockfalls and deposited large boulders onto highways.

US-50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic O ...

experienced some buckling and cracks, and some roads dropped more than 1.5 meters due to surface faulting. In

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 322 km away, the earthquake caused some $20,000 in damages to a water tank belonging to the city's filtration plant.

References

{{Earthquakes in the 1950s Earthquakes in Nevada 1954 earthquakes Natural disasters in Nevada Earthquake clusters, swarms, and sequences Disasters in Nevada December 1954 events in the United States August 1954 events in the United States 1954 natural disasters in the United States