Earthquake Country: The Walker Lane-Eastern California Shear Zone

The Walker Lane/Eastern California Sheer Zone is an extensive and complex tectonic rift system of mostly right lateral, strike-slip fault strands east of the Sierra-Nevada, stretching longitudinally between the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin geomorphic/tectonic provinces.

Ridgecrest Fault, southern Walker Lane Belt, USGS

The Walker Lane Belt and the San Andreas Fault System, together, define the North American-Pacific Plate boundary in California, and work in concert to accommodate relative tectonic movement and displacement between the plates.

The Walker Lane has been measured to express approximately 20% of the motion and strain between the Pacific and North American Plates, while the San Andreas System takes up approximately 80% of the tectonic energy of the plate margin.