U.S. Quaternary Fault and Fold Database Released

A comprehensive online compilation of Quaternary-age faults and folds throughout the United States was recently released by the U.S. Geological Survey with cooperation from state geological surveys, academia, and the private sector.The Web site (http://Qfaults. cr.usgs.gov/) contains searchable databases and related geo-spatial data that characterize earthquake-related structures that could be potential seismic sources for large-magnitude (M>6) earthquakes. This is the first nationwide compilation to provide current, comprehensive, geologically based information on known or suspected active faults. The Web site features a visual depiction of spatial and temporal patterns of faulting at local, regional, and national scales. Comprehensive written descriptions based on published data are presented in a uniform format for nearly 2000 faults nationwide. The database will be of interest to the seismological, geodetic, paleoseismic, and the ever-growing seismic hazard assessment communities, as well as emergency managers, the insurance industry earthquake engineers, public officials, and developers. The Web site features a user-friendly interface and supports user-defined, downloadable geographic information system (GIS) data.