A-1. Plot of probability of surface rupture relative to magnitude A-2. Plot of depth to top of surface rupture relative to magnitude for earthquakes in Next Generation Attenuation database B-1. Plot of multisegment fault as defined in 1996 and 2002 maps B-2. Plot of multisegment fault as defined in 2008 maps D-1. Diagram of a virtual dipping fault D-2. Plots showing effect of including hanging-wall term on median ground motion D-3. Plot showing the increase in Rjb for vertical faults F-1. Ground motions for two sites in the Central and Eastern United States without cluster model F-2. Ground motions for two sites in the Central and Eastern United States with cluster model G-1. Map of fault sources in the Intermountain West G-2. Slip-rate changes for Intermountain West faults H-1. Map of fault sources in the Pacific Northwest J-1. Plot showing increase in characteristic rate due to magnitude rounding J-2. Plot showing uncertainty in assigned slip rate for selected faults in Utah Appendix Tables: A-1. Depth to top of rupture E-1. Sampling interval details for non-California faults, truncated Gutenberg-Richter distribution G-1. Updated Intermountain West fault parameters G-2. Updated fault names for Intermountain West faults G-3. Intermountain West fault parameters by State H-1. Pacific Northwest fault parameters by State I-1. Rupture-model data for California Type-A faults I-2. List of significant changes to California Type-B faults I-3. Parameters for California Type-B faults I-4. Parameters for California Connected-B faults

The national seismic hazard maps for the conterminous United States have been updated to account for new methods, models, and data that have been obtained since the 2008 maps were released (Petersen and others, 2008). The input models are improved from those implemented in 2008 by using new ground motion models that have incorporated about twice as many earthquake strong ground shaking data and by incorporating many additional scientific studies that indicate broader ranges of earthquake source and ground motion models. These time-independent maps are shown for 2-percent and 10-percent probability of exceedance in 50 years for peak horizontal ground acceleration as well as 5-hertz and 1-hertz spectral accelerations with 5-percent damping on a uniform firm rock site condition (760 meters per second shear wave velocity in the upper 30 m, V S30). In this report, the 2014 updated maps are compared with the 2008 version of the maps and indicate changes of plus or minus 20 percent over wide areas, with larger changes locally, caused by the modifications to the seismic source and ground motion inputs.

During 2017–2018, the National Seismic Hazard Model for the conterminous United States was updated as follows: (1) an updated seismicity catalog was incorporated, which includes new earthquakes that occurred from 2013 to 2017; (2) in the central and eastern United States (CEUS), new ground motion models were updated that incorporate updated median estimates, modified assessments of the associated epistemic uncertainties and aleatory variabilities, and new soil amplification factors; (3) in the western United States (WUS), amplified shaking estimates of long-period ground motions at sites overlying deep sedimentary basins in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City areas were incorporated; and (4) in the conterminous United States, seismic hazard is calculated for 22 periods (from 0.01 to 10 s) and 8 uniform VS30 maps (ranging from 1500 to 150 m/s). We also include a description of updated computer codes and modeling details. Results show increased ground shaking in many (but not all) locations across the CEUS (up to ~30%), as well as near the four urban areas overlying deep sedimentary basins in the WUS (up to ~50%). Due to population growth and these increased hazard estimates, more people live or work in areas of high or moderate seismic hazard than ever before, leading to higher risk of undesirable consequences from forecasted future ground shaking.

Seismic tomography reveals garnet-rich crust and mantle lithosphere descending into the upper mantle beneath the southeastern Sierra Nevada. The descending lithosphere consists of two layers: an iron-rich eclogite above a magnesium-rich garnet peridotite. These results place descending eclogite above and east of high P wave speed material previously imaged beneath the southern Great Valley, suggesting a previously unsuspected coherence in the lithospheric removal process.