Contemporary Seismicity, Faulting, and the State of Stress in the Colorado Plateau

The contemporary seismicity of the Colorado Plateau based on seismic monitoring in the past 30 yr can be characterized as being of small to moderate magnitude, and contrary to earlier views, of a low to moderate rate of occurrence with earthquakes widely distributed. Concentrations of earthquakes have been observed in a few areas of the plateau. The most seismically active area of the Colorado Plateau is the eastern Wasatch Plateau Book Cliffs, where abundant small-magnitude seismicity is induced by coal mining.