Frankel LiDAR Figure Captions
Figure 1
(a) Hillshaded and (c) slope aspect maps of the right-laterally offset Furnace Creek alluvial fan in
central Fish Lake Valley, California from LiDAR data. (b, d) The Furnace Creek fan is retrodeformed 290 ± 20 m based on these data. Combining the 290 m offset with a 10Be surface
exposure age of 94 ka, Frankel et al. (2007a, 2008a) determined a slip rate of 3.1 mm/yr for this
segment of the northern Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault zone. LiDAR data were collected
by the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM). This research was supported by
the NSF EAR-Tectonics Program. NCALM is supported by NSF EAR-Instrumentation and
Facilities.
Figure 2
Hillshaded LiDAR image showing beheaded streams along the Cucomongo Canyon section of
the northern Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault. Restoration of these beheaded channels to
their pre-faulting position yields ~200 m of right-lateral offset. By combining the measured
dextral displacement with 10Be geochronology (Frankel et al., 2008 and Frankel et al., in prep)
determined that this segment of the northern Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault is slipping at 4
to 5 mm/yr and is thought to be the fastest slipping fault along the Pacific-North America plate
east of the San Andreas fault. LiDAR data were collected by the National Center for Airborne
Laser Mapping (NCALM). This research was supported by the NSF EAR-Tectonics Program.
NCALM is supported by NSF EAR-Instrumentation and Facilities.
Figure 3
Hillshaded LiDAR-derived digital elevation model of the deformed alluvial fan at the mouth of
Indian Creek in northern Fish Lake Valley, Nevada. Faulting in this fan occurs at the northern
extent of the Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault system. Frankel et al. (2007 GRL; 2008)
determined that the right-lateral component of slip at this location is ~2.5 mm/yr over the past
~70 ka. Reconstruction and cosmogenic nuclide dating of an offset Holocene alluvial at this
location also yields a dextral slip rate of ~2.5 mm/yr, suggesting that rates of deformation have
remained constant from the late-Pleistocene to present (Frankel et al., 2008b; Frankel et al., in
prep). In addition, recent analysis of the numerous normal fault scarps cutting the Indian Creek
fan by Ganev et al. (2008; 2009; in prep) suggests that the rate of extension along the Death
Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault zone in Fish Lake Valley is ~0.5 mm/yr, or half of the total
extension across the transtensional eastern California shear zone. LiDAR data were collected by
the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM). This research was supported by the
NSF EAR-Tectonics Program. NCALM is supported by NSF EAR-Instrumentation and
Facilities.
Figure 4
Hillshaded LiDAR image of the right-laterally offset Red Wall Canyon alluvial fan along the
northern Death Valley fault zone in Death Valley, California. Frankel et al. (2007b) used the
LiDAR data to determine a displacement of ~290 m at this location along the fault zone.
Combining the measured offset with 10Be and 36Cl cosmogenic nuclide geochronology, Frankel
et al. (2007b) determined the dextral slip rate at this location along the northern Death ValleyFish Lake Valley fault system is ~ 4.2 mm/yr. Frankel and Dolan (2007) combined surface
roughness measurements derived from the LiDAR data and cosmogenic 10Be geochronology to
determine that in arid regions such as Death Valley, it take ~70,000 years for alluvial fans to
become stable landforms. LiDAR data were collected by the National Center for Airborne Laser
Mapping (NCALM). This research was supported by the NSF EAR-Tectonics Program.
NCALM is supported by NSF EAR-Instrumentation and Facilities.
References
Frankel, K.L., Dolan, J.F., Ganev, P., and Finkel, R.C., in prep, Strain distribution along an evolving segment of the
Pacific-North America plate boundary: Geological Society of America Bulletin.
Ganev, P., Dolan, J.F., Frankel, K.L., and Finkel, R.C., in prep, Rates of normal faulting in Fish Lake Valley and
transtensional deformation in the eastern California shear zone: Tectonics.
Frankel, K.L., Glazner, A.F., Kirby, E., Monastero, F.C., Strane, M.D., Oskin, M.E., Unruh, J.R., Walker, J.D.,
Anandakrishnan, S., Bartley, J.M., Coleman, D.S., Dolan, J.F., Finkel, R.C., Greene, D., Kylander-Clark,
A., Morrero, S., Owen, L.A., and Phillips, F., 2008a, Active tectonics of the eastern California shear zone,
in Duebendorfer, E.M., and Smith, E.I., eds., Field guide to plutons, volcanoes, faults, reefs, dinosaurs, and
possible glaciation in selected areas of Arizona, California, and Nevada: Geological Society of America
Field Guide 11, p. 43-81, doi: 10.1130/2008.fld011(03).
Frankel, K.L., Dolan, J.F., Ganev, P., and Finkel, R.C., 2008b, Spatial and temporal constancy of seismic strain
release along the Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault and Pacific-North America plate boundary strain
distribution: EOS Transactions: AGU Fall Meeting Supplement, v. 89, Abstract T41A-1943.
Ganev, P., Dolan, J.F., Frankel, K.L., and Finkel, R.C., 2008, Rates of extension along the Fish Lake Valley fault
and transtensional deformation in the eastern California shear zone: EOS Transactions: AGU Fall Meeting
Supplement, v. 89, Abstract T41A-1941.
Frankel, K.L., Dolan, J.F., Owen, L.A., Finkel, R.C., and Hoeft, J.S., 2007a, Spatial variations in slip rate along the
Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley fault system from LiDAR topographic data and cosmogenic 10Be
geochronology: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 34, doi:10.1029/2007GL030549.
Frankel, K.L., Brantley, K.S, Dolan, J.F., Finkel, R.C., Klinger, R., Knott, J., Machette, M., Owen, L.A., Phillips,
F.M., Slate, J.L, and Wernicke, B.P., 2007b, Cosmogenic 10Be and 36Cl geochronology of offset alluvial
fans along the northern Death Valley fault zone: Implications for transient strain in the eastern California
shear zone: Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, v. 112, doi:10.1029/2006JB004350.
Frankel, K.L., and Dolan, J.F., 2007, Characterizing arid-region alluvial fan surface roughness with airborne laser
swath mapping digital topographic data: Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, v. 112,
doi:10.1029/2006JF000644.