Gulf of California Rift Zone

Northernmost extension of the East Pacific Rise

The Gulf of California Rift Zone (GCRZ) is the northernmost extension of the East Pacific Rise which extends some 1,300 km (800 mi) 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 is 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 GCRZ transform faults

From north to south:

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

List of GCRZ rift basins

From north to south:

References

Clayton, W.R. & Trampert, J. & Rebollar, C. & Ritsema, Jeroen & Persaud, Patricia & Paulssen, J.A.M. & Pérez-Campos, Xyoli & Wettum, A. & Perez-Vertti, A. & DiLuccio, F.. (2004). The NARS-Baja seismic array in the Gulf of California rift zone. MARGINS Newslett. 13.

Major seismically active faults of North America

North America
(crosses national borders)

Aleutian Trench (US–RU)
Basin and Range Province (US–MX)
Canadian Arctic Rift System (CA–GL)
Cascadia subduction zone (US–CA)
Clarendon-Linden fault system (US–CA)
Denali Fault (US–CA)
Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province (CA–US)
Puget Sound faults (US–CA)
Rio Grande rift (US–MX)
San Andreas Fault (US–MX)
Southern Great Lakes Seismic Zone (US–CA)
Tintina Fault (US–CA)

Canada

United States

Washington and Oregon	Brothers Fault Zone Olympic–Wallowa Lineament Puget Sound (Seattle Fault, Tacoma Fault) Walker Lane
California	Calaveras Fault Garlock Fault Hayward Fault Zone Mendocino Fracture Zone Newport–Inglewood Fault Puente Hills Fault Rose Canyon Fault San Jacinto Fault Zone (Elsinore Fault Zone)
Great Basin	Independence Valley fault system Moab Fault Teton Fault Wasatch Fault
Great Plains	Central Oklahoma Fault Zone Humboldt Fault Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system Meers Fault Nemaha Fault Zone Wilzetta Fault
Midwest	Marianna Fault New Madrid Seismic Zone Sandwich Fault Zone Wabash Valley Seismic Zone
Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic Coast	Aiken–Augusta Fault Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone Middleton Place–Summerville Seismic Zone (Woodstock Fault) Northern Appalachians Seismic Zone Ramapo Fault Virginia Seismic Zone

Caribbean and Mexico

Cayman Trough
Chixoy-Polochic Fault
Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone (Cuba)
Gulf of California Rift Zone
Lesser Antilles subduction zone
Middle America Trench (Central America)
Motagua Fault (Central America)
Pedro Miguel Fault
Puerto Rico Trench

v t e Tectonic plates of Central America (Pacific Plate–North American Plate–Caribbean Plate Convergence Zone)
Large	Cocos Plate Nazca Plate
Small	Rivera Plate
Faults and rift zones	Atl Fault Atoyac Fault Ballenas Fault Carmen Fault Cerro Prieto Fault Chapala Tula Fault Zone Donaji Fault Guaymas Fault Gulf of California Rift Zone Farallon Fault Imperial Fault Zone Oaxaca Fault Pedro Miguel Fault Pescadero Fault Rivera Transform Fault Polochic Fault - Motagua Fault San Lorenzo Fault Tamayo Fault
Trenches and troughs	Alarcon Basin Carmen Basin Consag Basin Delfin Basin Guaymas Basin Middle America Trench (Acapulco/Guatemala) San Pedro Mártir Basin Tehuantepec Ridge Wagner Basin
Other	Rivera Triple Junction List of faults in Costa Rica List of seismic faults in Mexico