Stream Channel Offset and Abandonment and a 200-year Average Recurrence Interval of Earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault at Phelan Creeks, Carrizo Plain, California

The Carrizo Plain segment of the San Andreas fault is noteworthy as an area that clearly displays offset, diverted, and abandoned channels. The channels result from the interaction of strike-slip fault processes, and the geomorphic processes of erosion, transport, and deposition. This interaction produces periodically abandoned channels accompanied by the incision of new channels across the San Andreas fault. Geomorphic features such as scarps, offset stream channels, grabens, and pressure ridges mark the surface trace of the fault.