Garlock Fault
Garlock Fault
The Garlock Fault is the defining fault between the
Mojave Desert and Basin and Range geomorphic provinces. The fault also defines the boundary between the northwestern most
Mojave and the southern portion of the Sierra Nevada geomorphic province.
The intersection of the San Andreas (the blue line) and Garlock (orange line) faults in southern California reflects
two different tectonic forces: the northwest-southeast sliding along the boundaries of the Pacific and North American
plates, and the roughly east-west crustal extension within the North American plate. The relative westward movement
of crust north of the Garlock fault bends the
San Andreas
system into a lazy "S" pattern. This deflection results
in a compression of rocks to the south of the fault, pushing them upward, as expressed by the
San Gabriel Mountains
and the east-west trending
Transverse Ranges
north of Los Angeles.
Mojave Desert
The Mojave is a broad interior region of isolated mountain ranges separated by expanses of desert plains. ...Basin and Range
The Basin and Range is the westernmost part of the Great Basin. The province is characterized by ...Sierra Nevada
The Sierra is a tilted fault block nearly 400 miles long. Its east face is a high, rugged multiple scarp,...
San Andreas and Garlock faults
El Paso mountains between the Mojave Desert and Basin and Range