
1996 State Hazard Map
| The California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is responsible
for the design, construction, operation and maintenance
of State Bridges and related structures for California's
transportation system. Earthquakes are prime considerations
in the design and retrofit of structures. The Office of
Earthquake Engineering is responsibilty to define the
seismic hazard for Caltrans' projects. It is the
current policy of Caltrans to utilize the anticipated
Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE) from young faults in
and near California to define the Safety evaluation event
for design. The MCE is defined as the largest earthquake
which can be expected to occur on a fault in the current
tectonic regime. Following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake Caltrans instituted an effort to a develop hazard maps for California to effectively incorporate seismic effects into the design process. This 1996 version of our hazard map is the latest map. The map incorporates the ideas and opinions from seismologists, geologists and other earth sciences experts . Features The 1996 map was developed using GIS technology ESRI's ArcInfo (and made available through ArcView). The length, dip, strike and depth of the fault is considered in the development of the map. The 1996 map incorporates 273 faults in and adjacent to California. On the map, contours of peak bedrock acceleration are presented from 0.1 to 0.7g. The map also shows the State Highway system and county boundaries. Comments & Suggestions This map is (and always was) dynamic in nature. As new information becomes available, it will be updated. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:
Martha Merriam Errata - A new map is in process, please note these changes which are NOT incorporated in the existing map. For the most current information, contact Martha Merriam at (916) 227-7135, or martha_merriam@dot.ca.gov:
Ordering
Copies of the 1996 Map: Copies of the map
(in black and white) along with the 64 page documentation
report can be obtained by contacting: Note: The IE6 browser requires the latest version of Acrobat Reader to open PDF files directly within the browser. If you do not have the latest Acrobat Reader and are using IE6, you will have to download the PDF file and open it locally on your machine. |
| Map Report (PDF) | Map (PDF2.4MB) |
Our Mailing Address
Division of Engineering Services
Office of Earthquake Engineering
P.O. Box 168041, MS 9 2/5I
Sacramento, California 95816-8041
