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Brief Report for Hilina fault system, Paliuli section (Class A) No. 2610n
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citation for this record: Cannon, E.C., and Bürgmann, R.Roland, compilers, 2006, Fault number 2610n, Hilina fault system, Paliuli section, in Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey website, http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/regional/qfaults, accessed 11/24/2009 06:16 AM.
| Synopsis | General: The first person to map the faults on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano remains unknown, but Wood (1914 #6979) noted that subsidence occurred on the oceanward side of these structures related to the 1868 Great Ka'u earthquake, an estimated M8 earthquake (Wyss, 1988 #6980). Tilling and others (fig. 16, 1976 #6974) summarize faulting on the Hilina fault system associated with the November 29, 1975, M7.2 Kalapana earthquake. Lipman and others (1985 #6952) provide a comprehensive report of the 1975 Kalapana earthquake. Refer to the description of the November 29, 1975, Kalapana earthquake in this compilation for more details. Kellogg and Chadwick (1987 #6948) record 1975 Kalapana earthquake fault offsets preserved in the Mauna Ulu pahoehoe lava flows (1969-1974) for the central Hilina fault system. Riley and others (1999 #6972) estimate the depth of the Hilina fault system and recurrence interval for the 1975 Kalapana earthquake using paleomagnetic measurements of south flank lava flows. Expanding on the work of Kellogg and Chadwick (1987 #6948), Cannon and Bürgmann (2001 #6934) and Cannon and others (2001 #6935) present detailed fracture maps of central Hilina faults, estimate prehistoric fault offset rates and recurrence intervals for large (M>6) prehistoric south flank earthquakes, and provide evidence for a shallow rather than a deep-seated interpretation for some of the Hilina faults.
Faulting along the Hilina fault system is related to large (M>6) earthquakes on the southern flank of Kilauea Volcano. Delaney and others (1998 #6939) conclude that the small strains observed across the southern flank in the past several decades suggest that the Hilina faults remained inactive except for during the 1975 Kalapana earthquake. The landslide and tsunami potential of the Hilina fault system remains a great concern. Ma and others (1999 #6984) estimate that the tsunami created by the 1975 Kalapana earthquake displaced approximately 2.5 cubic kilometers of water. Along the coast and offshore of Kilauea's south flank to the southeast, the Hilina fault system may represent the landslide headscarps to the submarine Hilina slump and Papa'u sand-rubble flow. Slumps and seafloor structures offshore of the Hilina fault system are interpreted as landslide blocks and debris (see Moore and others, 1989 #6961, 1995 #6958; Moore and Chadwick, 1995 #6959; Morgan and others, 2000 #6964, 2003 #6965). Significant coastal and submarine mass movements may have occurred within the past 100 ka. Geologic evidence demonstrates the existence of Quaternary deformation, but the fault system is associated with volcanic features that might not extend deeply enough to be a potential source of significant earthquakes. Sections: This fault has 15 sections. The Hilina fault system is an approximately 50-km-long, 5-km-wide zone of primarily normal faults that extend east across the southeastern flank of Kilauea Volcano. For this long fault system, we identify 15 fault sections based on fault-scarp morphology reflected on 7.5-minute topographic maps, continuity of expression, and evidence of apparent recent movement from cross-cutting relations of faults, fractures, and lava flows. The large number of sections for this fault system in particular is largely the result of young movement, high rates of movement, associations with large historic earthquakes, and focused study by researchers. The 15 sections are Pu'u Mo'o [2610a], Kukalau'ula Pali [2610b], Hilina Pali [2610c], Keana Bihopa [2610d], Pu'u Ka'one [2610e], Pu'u Kapukapu [2610f], Makahanu Pali [2610g], Pu'u'eo Pali [2610h], Kipukapapalinamoku 2610i], Poliokeawe Pali [2610j], 'Ainahou [2610k], Holei Pali [2610l], 'Apua Pali [2610m], Paliuli [2610n], and Pulama pali [2610o]. |
| County(s) and State(s) | HAWAII COUNTY COUNTY, HAWAII |
| AMS sheet(s) | Hawaii |
| Physiographic province(s) | HAWAIIAN - EMPEROR ISLAND - SEAMOUNT CHAIN |
| Length (km) | This section is 8 km of a total fault length of 50 km. |
| Average strike | N 76° E. (for section) versus N. 69° E. (for whole fault) |
| Sense of movement | |
| Dip Direction | N; S |
| Historic earthquake | Kalapana earthquake 1989 Kalapana earthquake M7.2 1975 Ka'u earthquake 1868 |
| Most recent prehistoric deformation | Latest Quaternary (<15 ka) |
| Slip-rate category | Between 1.0 and 5.0 mm/yr |
| Date and Compiler(s) | 2006 Eric C. Cannon, none Roland Bürgmann, University of California at Berkeley |
