Puente Hills Fault

The thrust fault was discovered in 1999 and runs about 40 km (25 mi) in three discrete sections from the Puente Hills region in the southeast to just south of Griffith Park in the northwest.

[1] The Puente Hills Thrust Fault System was identified on a collection of seismic reflection profiles that were acquired for the petroleum industry.

The data were made available to seismologists John Shaw and others for a comprehensive study of the region that was published in the bulletin of the Seismological Society of America in 2002.

The system comprises three sections that strike generally east–west and are labeled the Los Angeles, Santa Fe, and Coyote Hills segments.

[3] The location of the fault directly below metropolitan Los Angeles leads it to be of great concern for the public, with various predicted scenarios in the event of an earthquake.

Map showing the location of the Puente Hills Fault
Map showing the location and depth of the Puente Hills Fault, Compton Thrust Fault, and the Sierra Madre Fault Zone
ShakeMap created by the United States Geological Survey for a M w 7.1 scenario earthquake on the Puente Hills Fault