Gulf of California Rift Zone

The Gulf of California Rift Zone (GCRZ) is the northernmost extension of the East Pacific Rise which extends some 1300 km from the mouth of the Gulf of California to the southern terminus of the San Andreas Fault at the Salton Sink.

The GCRZ is an incipient rift zone akin to the Red Sea Rift. In the GCRZ continental crust originally associated with the North American Plate has been pulled apart by tectonic forces and being replaced by newly formed oceanic crust and seafloor spreading. The rifting has resulted in the transfer of the Baja California Peninsula to the Pacific Plate.

List of Transform Faults

From north to south:

• Imperial Fault
• Cerro Prieto Fault
• Ballenas Fault
• Partida Fault
• San Lorenzo Fault
• Guaymas Fault
• Carmen Fault
• Farallon Fault
• Atl Fault
• Murillo Fault
• Pescadero Fault
• Tamayo Fault

List of Rift Basins

From north to south:

• Brawley seismic zone
• Cerro Prieto
• Wagner Basin
• Consag Basin
• Delfin Basin
• San Pedro Martir Basin
• Guaymas Basin
• Carmen Basin
• Farallon Basin
• Pescadero Basin
• Alarcon Basin

References

• The NARS-Baja Seismic Array in the Gulf of California Rift Zone, Clayton et al (2004)