1954 Fairview Peak earthquake area, Nevada

Abstract On December 16, 1954, two large-magnitude earthquakes occurred nearly simultaneously in the Fairview Peak-Dixie Valley area of western Nevada (Fig.1) (Slemmons, 1984). The first earthquake (Ms = 7.25) was centered near the middle of the Fairview Peak fault zone, where it crosses U.S. 50. It was followed four minutes later by a second shock(Ms=7-)centered on the east flank of the Stillwater Range in the northwest part of Dixie Valley, about 37 mi (60 km) to the north. Both earthquakes were accompanied by extensive and spectacular surface faulting (Slemmons, 1957). The combined rupture zone is about 62 mi (100 km) long and 18 mi (30 km) wide. The most spectacular scarps of this zone are at the main site (Figs.2 and 3) on the southeast side of Fairview Peak, an area that is about 5.5 mi (9 km) south of U.S. 50 and is accessible by passenger car on a new graded road.