Paleoseismology of the Sawtooth Fault and Implications for Fault Behavior in the Epicentral Region of the 2020 Mw 6.5 Stanley, Idaho, Earthquake

Abstract

The 2020 moment magnitude (Mw) 6.5 Stanley, Idaho, earthquake raised questions about the history and extent of complex faulting in the northwestern Centennial Tectonic Belt (CTB) and its relation to the Sawtooth normal fault and Eocene Trans-Challis fault system (TCFS). To explore faulting in this area, we excavated a paleoseismic trench across the Sawtooth fault along the western margin of the CTB, and compared an early Holocene (9.1 ± 2.1 ka, 1σ) rupture at the site with lacustrine paleoseismic data and fault mapping in the 2020 epicentral region. We find: (1) a history of partial to full rupture of the Sawtooth fault (Mw 6.8–7.4), (2) that shorter ruptures (Mw≤6.9) are likely along distributed and discontinuous faults in the epicentral region, (3) that this complex system that hosted the 2020 earthquake is not directly linked to the Sawtooth fault, (4) that the northeast-trending TCFS likely plays a role in controlling fault length and rupture continuity for adjacent faults, and (5) that parts of the TCFS may facilitate displacement transfer between normal faults that accommodate crustal extension and rotation. Our results help unravel complex faulting in the CTB and imply that relict structures can help inform regional seismic hazard assessments.