ENGINEERING

GEOLOGY
ELSEVIER Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 ,,

Use of liquefaction-induced features for paleoseismic analysis-

An overview of how seismic liquefaction features can be
distinguished from other features and how their regional
distribution and properties of source sediment can be used to infer
the location and strength of Holocene paleo-earthquakes
Stephen F. Obermeier 1
US Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA
Received 10 October 1995; accepted 23 February 1996

Abstract

Liquefaction features can be used in many field settings to estimate the recurrence interval and magnitude of strong
earthquakes through much of the Holocene. These features include dikes, craters, vented sand, sills, and laterally
spreading landslides. The relatively high seismic shaking level required for their formation makes them particularly
valuable as records of strong paleo-earthquakes. This state-of-the-art summary for using liquefaction-induced features
for paleoseismic interpretation and analysis takes into account both geological and geotechnical engineering
perspectives.
The driving mechanism for formation of the features is primarily the increased pore-water pressure associated with
liquefaction of sand-rich sediment. The role of this mechanism is often supplemented greatly by the direct action of
seismic shaking at the ground surface, which strains and breaks the clay-rich cap that lies immediately above the
sediment that liquefied. Discussed in the text are the processes involved in formation of the features, as well as their
morphology and characteristics in field settings. Whether liquefaction occurs is controlled mainly by sediment grain
size, sediment packing, depth to the water table, and strength and duration of seismic shaking. Formation of
recognizable features in the field generally requires a low-permeability cap above the sediment that liquefied. Field
manifestations are controlled largely by the severity of liquefaction and the thickness and properties of the low-
permeability cap.
Criteria are presented for determining whether observed sediment deformation in the field originated by seismically
induced liquefaction. These criteria have been developed mainly by observing historic effects of liquefaction in varied
field settings. The most important criterion is that a seismic liquefaction origin requires widespread, regional
development of features around a core area where the effects are most severe. In addition, the features must have a
morphology that is consistent with a very sudden application of a large hydraulic force.
This article discusses case studies in widely separated and different geological settings: coastal South Carolina, the
New Madrid seismic zone, the Wabash Valley seismic zone, and coastal Washington State. These studies encompass
most of the range of settings and the types of liquefaction-induced features likely to be encountered anywhere. The

1Tel.: 703 648 6791; fax; 703 648 6953 or 6717; e-mail: sober@usgs.gov.

0013-7952/96/$15.00 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

PH S0013-7952 (96) 00040-3
2 S.I( Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

case studies describe the observed features and the logic for assigning a seismic liquefaction origin to them. Also
discussed are some types of sediment deformations that can be misinterpreted as having a seismic origin.
Two independent methods for estimating prehistoric magnitude are discussed briefly. One method is based on
determination of the maximum distance from the epicenter over which liquefaction-induced effects have formed. The
other method is based on use of geotechnical engineering techniques at sites of marginal liquefaction, in order to
bracket the peak accelerations as a function of epicentral distance: these accelerations can then be compared with
predictions from seismological models.

Key words." Liquefaction-induced features; Paleoseismic analysis; Seismic liquefaction features; Regional distribution:
Source sediment properties; Holocene paleo-earthquakes

1. Introduction the lower limit at which liquefaction effects become

This text focuses on the methods for determining
whether observed sediment deformation had a
seismic shaking origin or a nonseismic origin.
Emphasis is placed on the process of liquefaction,
which is the transformation of a granular material
from a solid state into a liquefied state as a
consequence of increased pore-water pressures
(oud, 1973). The discussion encompasses various
manifestations of liquefaction-induced deforma-
tion in fluvial and nearshore-marine deposits and
the application of criteria for establishing an earth-
quake origin.
The systematic study of paleoliquefaction is a
young discipline. Accordingly, some of the physical
parameters that control effects of liquefaction in
the field are not completely understood. Still, the
principles and methods for conducting paleolique-
faction studies are sufficiently advanced to warrant
their routine application in paleoseismic studies.
The methods in this text for conducting paleolique-
faction studies were developed largely out of neces-
sity in the United States, where the historic seismic
record is particularly short.
Paleoliquefaction studies are useful to engineers
and planners because of the high shaking threshold
required to develop liquefaction features. The
threshold is a horizontal acceleration on the order
of 0.1 x g for strong earthquakes, even in highly
susceptible sediment (Ishihara, 1985, p. 352;
National Research Council, 1985, p. 34).
Worldwide data on historical earthquakes show
that features having a liquefaction origin can be
developed at earthquake magnitudes as low as
about 5, but that a magnitude of about 5.5 6 is
relatively common (Ambraseys, 1988). In this arti-
cle, earthquake magnitude (M) is used rather
loosely as either moment magnitude or surface-
wave magnitude, whichever is larger.
Liquefaction has been severe and widespread in
many earthquakes around the world. Effects of
liquefaction have many manifestations. Some note-
worthy reports discuss the effects of the following
earthquakes: the 1811-1812 New Madrid,
Missouri, earthquakes (Fuller, 1912); the 1886
Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake (Dutton,
1889); earthquakes in northern California (Youd
and Hoose, 1978); the 1964 Alaska earthquake
(US Geological Survey Professional Papers 542
through 545; separately authored chapters, which
are not cited herein, were published in 1965-1970;
also, Walsh et al., 1995); various earthquakes in
Japan (O'Rourke and Hamada, 1989); and the
earthquake of 1897 in India (Oldham, 1899). Only
rarely are the deformational effects of liquefaction
illustrated in vertical section, as in this article, even
though this view is most useful for paleoliquefac-
tion studies. Noteworthy accounts of the vertical
view were reported by Sieh (1978), Amick et al.
(1990), Audemard and de Santis (1991), Tuttle
and Seeber (1991), Clague et al. (1992),
Wesnousky and Leffler (1992), Tuttle (1994), Sims
and Garvin (1995), and Walsh et al. (1995).
Findings of exceptional interest in these reports
are discussed herein where appropriate. The princi-
pal bases for this text are my observations of
liquefaction effects in widely diverse geological and
geographic settings.
The liquefaction effects described in this text are
caused mainly by cyclic shaking of level or nearly
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
level ground. Primary seismological factors con-
tributing to liquefaction are the amplitude of the
cyclic shear stresses and the number of applications
of the shear stresses (Seed, 1979). These factors,
respectively, are related to field conditions of shak-
ing amplitude (that is, peak acceleration) and
duration of strong shaking. Both peak acceleration
and duration generally correlate with the earth-
quake magnitude. Analytical engineering methods
for evaluating variable and irregular cyclic stress
applications typical of real earthquakes are well
developed and yield results acceptable for engineer-
ing analysis (Seed et al., 1983), providing that
shaking amplitude-time records can be reasonably
bracketed. In the text, there is a brief discussion
of how to set limits for the strength of prehis-
toric shaking.
Pseudonodules and other such features caused
by the plastic deformation or flowage of very soft
muds and freshly deposited cohesionless sediments
(often referred to as "syndepositional features"
or "soft-sediment deformations") are discussed
briefly. Liquefaction is not required to deform
muds and extremely loose, freshly deposited cohe-
sionless sediments, although a high pore-water
pressure can be involved. The geological literature
is replete with articles attributing an earthquake
origin to deformed muds and convoluted sands. It
must be kept in mind, however, that very weak
sediments also are commonly deformed as a result
of other geological processes, such as loading
during rapid sedimentation, localized artesian con-
ditions, or slumping. In addition, soft-sediment
deformations often form at such low levels of
seismic shaking that the shaking poses no hazard.
Thus the usefulness of these features for hazard
assessment normally is limited, and interpretations
of origin often are equivocal. Interpretation of
origin usually is much more straightforward and
reliable for suspected liquefaction features than
for soft-sediment deformations. Still, in some field
situations where it can be proven that the soft-
sediment structures formed synchronously at wide-
spread locations, an earthquake origin can be
attributed.
This text also contains discussion of features
formed by chemical weathering and of features
deformed by processes in a periglacial environ-
3
ment. Both types of features can mimic those of
earthquake origin. Tests are suggested for inter-
pretation of origin.
This text is intended primarily for geologists and
secondarily for geotechnical engineers. A few
terms, though, are used strictly in the geotechnical
context because of the lack of adequate geological
equivalents for semiquantitative description of sed-
iment properties. Most of these terms are in
Table 1, which relates the state of compactness
(that is, the relative density) of sand to descriptors
such as "very loose" or "very dense." In a similar
sense, the term "clean sand" refers to a sand with
no silt or clay or bonding matter. The term "lique-
faction susceptibility" refers to the ease with which
a saturated sediment liquefies and is described with
qualifiers such as "very low" or "very high" (Youd
and Perkins, 1978). To illustrate, a saturated, very
loose sand always has a very high liquefaction
susceptibility. "Liquefaction potential" relates to
the likelihood of liquefaction occurring during a
specific earthquake at a particular strength of
shaking. Even a saturated, very loose sand has no
liquefaction potential if the severity of shaking is
low enough.
2. Overview of the formation of liquefaction-
induced features
The application of shear stresses causes a
buildup of pore-water pressure, which in turn leads
to liquefaction of saturated cohesionless sediment.
For seismically induced liquefaction, these shear
stresses are due primarily to the upward propaga-
tion of cyclic shear waves. Sediment on level
ground undergoes loading conditions as depicted
Table 1
Relativedensityof sand as related to Standard Penetration Test
blow counts (from Terzaghi and Peck (1967))
No. of blows(N) Relative density
0-4 Very loose
4-10 Loose
10-30 Medium or moderate
30-50 Dense
> 50 Very dense
4 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1- 76

~]tO() ~h
~ [ ~ <"- - ~ ~ Uncdn;olisidtated
~_:?}_--".' .z.....,,z-.,'.'-,z,~,.' Bedrock

TIME . . . .

Hypocenter Q

Fig. 1. Vertical section showing idealized field loading conditions changing with time as energy propagates upward from hypocenter.
Stresses shown represent preliquefaction cyclic loading conditions, cry, initial vertical effective overburden stress; Zh, earthquake-
induced horizontal cyclic shear stress.

in Fig. 1, with the shear stress applications being
somewhat random but nonetheless cyclic.
Cohesionless sediments that are loosely packed
tend to become more compact when sheared.
Continued cyclic shearing can cause the pore-water
pressure to increase suddenly to the static confining
pressure, leading to large strains and flowage of
the water and sediment. No appreciable change in
volume of the deposit is required for this change
in state from a solid-like to a viscous, liquid-like
material (that is, for liquefaction). The process is
driven by breakdown of the packing arrangement
of grains as the grains attempt to move into a
more dense packing (Fig. 2).
Liquefaction during earthquake shaking most
commonly originates at a depth ranging from a
few meters to about 10 m. Liquefaction takes place
only where the sediment is completely saturated.
The zone of liquefaction during shaking depends
on the relationship between the cyclic shear stresses
generated by the earthquake and the stress required
to initiate liquefaction in the sediment (Fig. 3).
Development of liquefaction is increasingly diffi-
cult with depth because the higher static vertical
effective stress (total overburden pressure minus
pore-water pressure) applied by the overburden
greatly increases the resistance of sediment to
shearing and deformation.
Sediment vented to the ground surface is the
most conspicuous evidence of liquefaction at

A B C

Loose depositional Packing during Resedimentation,

packing liquefaction, with layer of
with excess water at top
pore-water pressure
throughout

Fig. 2. Changes in packing of sediment grains caused by liquefaction.

 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76 5

SHEAR STRESS
>
\\

\\

Zone of liquefaction during

earthquake shaking

"1-
I--
IX.
IJ.l
E3 Cyclic stress required to
, ~ initiate liquefaction
in C cycles
%
X
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
Average cyclic shear stress '
developed for C cycles
by earthquake motions

Fig. 3. Depth of liquefaction induced during earthquake shaking, as affected by the factors of depth below ground surface and seismic
shear stress. C, number of shaking cycles. From Seed and Idriss (1971).

depth. Water from the zone of high pore-water

pressure must escape upward to cause venting. A
water-sediment mixture typically erupts suddenly
and violently to the surface through preexisting
holes or through fractures opened in the capping
material in response to liquefaction. In exceptional
situations, the mixture spouts as high as 6-7 m,
especially where flow is concentrated into holes
and cracks through an overlying finer grained cap
(Dutton, 1889; Fuller, 1912; Housner, 1958).
Water, sand, and silt can continue to flow to the
surface as "sand volcanoes" for hours after earth-
quake shaking has stopped. Sediment is left behind
on the ground surface in the form of cones, often
called sand blows or sand boils (Fig. 4). The cones
of sand can be as much as a meter in height and Fig. 4. Small sand blows near the town of El Centro from the
1979 Imperial Valley, California, earthquake. The sand blows
tens of meters in width.
were produced by a mixture of sand and water that spouted to
The increased pore-water pressure during the surface; they provide evidence of extensive liquefaction at
ground shaking can be manifested in other ways. depth. Length of white bar in foreground is about 15 crn.
The high pore-water pressure decreases the shear Photograph courtesy of R.F. Scott.
6 S. kl Obermeier/lz)tgineering Geoh~gy 44 (1996) 1 76
strength of granular strata at depth. These strata
can then fail in shear even where the ground
surface is inclined as gently as 0.1 5% (Youd,
1978: Youd and Bartlett, 1991). Huge masses of
overlying soil can shift horizontally in the form of
laterally moving landslides (called lateral spreads;
Fig. 5). Separation between individual blocks is
commonly as much as 2 3 m where shaking has
been especially strong. This separation tends to be
largest near stream banks or scarps in alluvium,
even if only a few meters in height, because these
breaks in slope are where there is less resistance
to lateral movements.
Fig. 6 illustrates how separations in the cap can
form on level ground far from breaks in slope.
Oscillation of the ground above the liquefied zone
causes fissures that separate blocks. These fissures
are generally smaller than the largest separations
formed during lateral spreading and only in excep-
tional cases are as much as 15 20cm in width
(T.D. O'Rourke, Cornell University, oral com-
mun., 1995).
Liquefaction of granular deposits normally leads
to surface cracking and formation of localized
depressions because of densification of liquefied
sediment after expulsion of water, even where there
is no evidence of venting of sand and water to the
Fine-grained surficial layer
v \"
Initial section
Generally increasing separation between blocks
~-~. -~ --~ ~ ~ _
Deform<d section
Fig. 5. Vertical section showing lateral spread resulting from
shaking of level to gently inclined ground near a break in slope.
Liquefaction occurs in the zone marked by diagonal lines. The
surface layer then moves laterally toward the break and divides
into blocks separated by fissures. Sand is vented to the surface
through some fissures, but other fissures are only partly filled.
The blocks can tilt and settle differentially with respect to one
another. Triangle points to water table. From Youd (1984a).
Fine-grained surficial l a y e r
E
~:- .I .'.: .~ :.. " ...'- :':
Back-and-forth oscillation
Fig. 6. Vertical section showing fissures and blocks resulting
from oscillation of level ground far from breaks in slope (figure
from Youd, 1984a; triangle points to water table). Ground oscil-
lation can originate by fundamentally different mechanisms
driven by surface waves (You& 1984a) or body waves (Pease
and O'Rourke, 1995). ( l ) In the mechanism driven by surface
waves, liquefaction in the zone marked by diagonal lines decou-
pies the surface layer from the underlying liquefied layer. The
decoupled layer vibrates at a different frequency than the under-
lying liquefied layer and the laterally surrounding firm ground:
as a result, fissures form between oscillating blocks and adjacent
firm ground. Travelling ground waves and opening and closing
fissures are commonly seen during ground oscillation. (2) In
the mechanism driven by body waves, ground oscillation
becomes severe in response to a resonant frequency effect in
which horizontal displacement in the cap is amplified with
respect to that of the underlying liquefied sand.
surface. These settlements can be as much as
0.25-0.5 m where thick sands liquefy severely
(Tokimatsu and Seed, 1987).
On slopes that exceed about 5%, severely lique-
fied sediments can cause huge landslides (some-
times called flow failures) that can flow as much
as tens to hundreds of meters. Ground disruption
can be so severe that it is difficult to establish what
the surface geometry was prior to failure. Strength
properties of materials in the failure zone can
be changed greatly. Flow failures aloug banks
of streams and hillsides can also originate by
static (nonearthquake) mechanisms, however.
Determination that prehistoric landslide move-
ment on a steep slope was seismically triggered
generally requires complex engineering testing and
analysis difficult to perform in the best of circum-
stances, irrespective of whether liquefaction was
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
involved (Jibson and Keefer, 1993). Therefore,
sites on level ground are best for distinguishing a
seismic from a nonseismic origin.
Clastic dikes on level to nearly level ground are
the primary source of data used for paleoseismic
interpretations. Very important factors controlling
the development and density of dikes include not
only the compactness and thickness of sediment
that liquefied but also cap thickness. Dikes almost
certainly form solely in response to hydraulic
fracturing of the cap in a great many field situa-
tions, but dike development can be enhanced
greatly by the cap simply being pulled apart by
lateral spreading or by oscillatory shaking at the
surface.
2.1. Process of liquefaction andfluidization
The process of seismically induced liquefaction
of saturated granular sediments has been studied
extensively and is reasonably well understood
(Seed, 1979; National Research Council, 1985;
Castro, 1987; Dobry, 1989). Fig. 7 illustrates the
typical field situation on level ground. A liquefiable
sand layer is overlain by a thin, nonliquefiable
stratum, and the ground-water table is shallow.
Earthquake-induced shear stresses propagate
through the sand and cause shear strain of the
sediment structure. (Shear strain, 7, is the angle in
radians shown in Fig. 7; shear strain can also be
expressed as a percentage of the radians in a
complete circle.) Because grains attempt to move
into a denser packing arrangement relatively
quickly during back-and-forth shear straining,
water in the voids does not have time to escape.
The pore-water pressure can thereby increase. In
loose deposits, stresses at the grain contacts can
approach zero, and concurrently the pore-water
pressure alone supports the weight of the overbur-
den. The first time this occurs is often referred to
as "initial liquefaction" (National Research
Council, 1985, p. 42). A large loss of strength can
take place once this condition is reached. In very
loosely packed sand, the strain can increase sud-
denly, and blocks on slopes can move large dis-
tances. The combination of elevated pore pressure
with large loss of strength is sometimes referred to
as "complete liquefaction" (oud, 1973). In more
7
densely packed sand, the pore-pressure rise is less
sudden, and the strength loss is less severe; thus,
any increase in strain is less dramatic and is limited.
Very densely packed sands may not develop pore-
water pressures high enough to cause liquefaction.
For the purpose of this text, the condition of
highly elevated pore-water pressure with a signifi-
cant loss of strength is referred to simply as
"liquefaction." When the term "initial liquefac-
tion" is used, emphasis is on the elevated pore-
water pressure rather than loss of strength.
The cyclic shear strain in sands that is required
to induce liquefaction usually is very small, being
less than a few percent (Pease and O'Rourke,
1995). For earthquakes having long durations and
many cycles, the critical shear strain can be
extraordinarily small, as l o w as 0.04% (Dobry,
1989). Following liquefaction, densification can
occur after water is expelled from the sediment.
The vertical settlement caused by sediment densi-
fication often is quite small, being less than 2-3%
of the height of the stratum that liquefied (Castro,
1987, p. 175).
Only minor disturbance to original stratification
may take place in that portion of the stratum
where only initial liquefaction has occurred. The
effects to bedding are often virtually indistinguish-
able to the unaided eye. Closer inspection may
show that platy minerals such as mica and clay
are reoriented from their original flat-lying position
(and can form structures known as "dishes,"
shown in Fig. 33), and thin laminations of finest
constituents are warped. Small, steeply inclined,
flame-like sand-rich structures known as "pillars"
(see Fig. 34) can form where water collects beneath
a slightly less permeable lamina and then locally
penetrates through the lamina to winnow out silt
and other very fine constituents. This winnowing
takes place by a process often referred to as
"fluidization."
Fluidization occurs when flowing water exerts
sufficient drag or lift to momentarily suspend
grains of sediment. When a fluid is forced vertically
through a layer of cohesionless sediment at a rate
sufficiently high to cause fluidization, the layer
expands rapidly, porosity increases, and the sedi-
ment ceases to be grain supported and becomes
fluid supported. Fluidized flow typically destroys
8 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
Nonliquefiable layer
Stratum H 1
,ow
:.' ":"-'"" "".''" : " :'-" ::.' :'.","
Stratum H 2
Fig. 7. Vertical section showing typical sediment relations, seismic loading condition, and water flow paths involved in formation of
sand blows; 7, shear strain (angle in radians); a, horizontal acceleration; ~h, shear stress induced by horizontal acceleration. Triangle
points to water table.
original bedding and structures, at least locally.
Fluidization can result from a number of mecha-
nisms, including seepage caused by compaction of
underlying sediments, seepage from springs, or
seepage from deposits liquefied either from static
or earthquake forces.
Reoriented minerals and small deformation
structures similar to those caused by liquefaction-
induced fluidization occur as syndepositional
features in many environments (see Lowe and
LoPiccolo, 1974; Lowe, 1975; and van Loon,
1992), which makes interpretation of a seismic or
nonseismic origin uncertain. In contrast, larger
features caused by fluidization from seismic lique-
faction are easier to interpret because, in many
field situations, sand-filled dikes whose widths
exceed several centimeters and whose heights
exceed a meter or so cut weathering horizons or
other strata that are obviously much younger than
the source zone for the dikes. This relation gen-
erally eliminates syndepositional processes from
tf/
"" "" 7 " W a t e r :'.' .'":
the list of possible causes for formation of the
dikes.
Many variables control the formation of large
fluidization features caused by seismic liquefaction.
The influences of some of the most important
variables are fairly well understood. The forces
involved and processes were presented elegantly
by Scott and Zuckerman (1973). The main ele-
ments are illustrated in Fig. 7. Assume stratum
H 2 liquefies. Water tends to flow upward by two
mechanisms, relief of the high pore-water pressure
and reconsolidation. Reconsolidation tends to
cause densification as it progresses from the
bottom of stratum H 2 upward (Scott, 1986). Water
expelled from the zone that liquefied during shak-
ing tends to accumulate beneath a low-permeabil-
ity capping layer (stratum H2) to form a water-
rich zone (Liu and Qiao, 1984; Elgamal et al.,
1989; Dobry and Liu, 1992; Fiegel and Kutter,
t994); this zone, in turn, probably supplies much
of the water and sand that vent to the surface
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
through breaks in the cap. Sediment may also be
vented to the surface from greater depth, where
liquefaction first developed. Venting can occur
during the time of strong shaking or be delayed
by as much as a few minutes following very strong
shaking (Kawakami and Asada, 1966). Where the
cap is thin (< 1-2 m) is where the increased pore-
water pressure in the underlying sand-water mix-
ture can most easily break through to the surface.
Characteristics of the lower layer (stratum H2)
that enhance the liquefaction-fluidization process
are (1) a thick, loose sand that, once liquefied,
provides a large volume of water available for
upward flow, and (2) a permeability that is high
enough to allow water to flow quickly to the base
of the cap but that is not so high as to dissipate
excess pore pressures between seismic cycles of
shearing (Castro, 1987, pp. 177-179; Dobry,
1989).
This simple model fully explains most field
observations. However, seemingly contradictory
manifestations of the liquefaction and fluidization
process also are seen in the field. For example,
sand dikes cutting gravel layers much more perme-
able than the sand dikes have been reported by
Tuttle et al. (1992).
2.2. Factors affecting liquefaction susceptibility and
effects of fluidization
The most important factors controlling develop-
ment of liquefaction-induced dikes and sills are
considered in this section. Not discussed here are
secondary factors affecting liquefaction susceptibil-
ity, such as grain shape, sediment fabric, weak
grain-to-grain bonding in sediment, and static hori-
zontal stress conditions; those factors were summa-
rized by Seed (1979) and Mitchell (1976, p. 244).
2.2.1. Grain size
Both field and laboratory data show that loosely
packed, cohesionless sands that are clean (that is,
they have no clay or silt or bonding matter) can
readily liquefy and form great numbers of clastic
dikes, sills, and sand blows. Fig. 8 shows often-
cited curves with size boundaries for fine and
medium sands that liquefy most easily and form
large fluidization features. On the basis of my field
9
observations of effects of the 1811-1812 New
Madrid earthquakes and the 1886 Charleston
earthquake, for these sand sizes, a nonliquefiable
cap of only slightly lower permeability can still
provide adequate confinement to form large sand
blows.
The threshold magnitude to induce liquefaction
effects in the most susceptible gravel deposits is
about 7, whereas the threshold magnitude for
sands is about 5.5 (Valera et al., 1994). Deposits
of sand and gravel containing more than 30-50%
gravel can liquefy, but liquefaction-induced fea-
tures in such coarse deposits are sparse in compari-
son to these features in sands. Such diminishment
results from a number of reasons. The high gravel
content increases the internal friction resistance,
making initial liquefaction more difficult. In addi-
tion, gravel-rich deposits are generally more
densely packed than sands in field situations. This
increased resistance to shearing combined with the
high permeability found in many gravel-rich depos-
its makes liquefaction much more difficult than
for sands (Wong et al., 1975, p. 582). In deposits
having only a small percentage of fine grains
(particles smaller than about 0.06 mm), the gravels
are in point-to-point contact rather than being
encased in a matrix of sand and silt. If more than
80% of the sediment is coarser than 0.7 mm in
diameter, then the permeability may be too high
to develop a condition of initial liquefaction if
there is no cap to inhibit drainage (National
Research Council, 1985, p. 94). However, very
gravelly sediments can form large liquefaction-
induced features if the source deposits are loose,
thick, and capped by a stratum of low
permeability.
For example, extensive liquefaction occurred
during the 1983 Borah Peak, Idaho, earthquake
(M=7.3) where very coarse sediment (Fig. 8) was
confined by a low-permeability cap (Andrus et al.,
1991). Large amounts of gravel-bearing sand were
vented onto the ground surface. Significant lateral
spreading also occurred. The source strata con-
tained at least 70% gravel. Peak earthquake accel-
erations probably were high at this site, between
0.3 and 0.35 x g (Andrus et al., 1991, p. 257).
Corroborating evidence of severe liquefaction in
gravel is also provided by a disastrous occurrence
I0 S. 1~ Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1- 76

UNIFORMLY GRADED (WELL SORTED) DEPOSITS

100
I--
I
(.9
w
75
>-
O3
n-
W 50
z
I,.-
z
w
0
rr
I11
[3.
25
\ \
1', 10 1.0 0.1 0.01

Gravel ] Sand ] Silt ] Clay

PARTICLE SIZE (mm)

WELL GRADED POORLY SORTED) DEPOSITS

100

>- 75 - - \ \ liquefiable --
m \
~r \
w 50--
z
,7- Borah/\
~-
zw Peak Potentially~
25--
o ~ liquefiable--
n" earthquake
ILl

a_ 0
O0 10 1.0 0.1 0.01

Gravel l Sand 1 Silt I Clay

PARTICLE SIZE (mm)

Fig. 8. Gradation curves showing grain sizes and gradations most susceptible to liquefaction; from Tsuchida and Hayashi (1971).
Line for 1983 Borah Peak, Idaho, earthquake (M= 7.3) shows gradation of coarsest natural deposit that is verified to have produced
severe liquefaction effects at ground surface; from Andrus and Youd (1987). +, coarsest grain size suspected to be able to develop
the condition of initial liquefaction without confinement by a cap of low permeability.

in a gravel-rich fan deposit near the epicenter of
the Fuku, Japan, earthquake of 1948 (Ishihara,
1985, p. 333).
In another example (Meier, 1993), gravels lique-
fied sufficiently to cause damage to many bridges
during the 1964 Alaskan earthquake (M=9.2).
Ross et al. (1969) found that all these bridge sites
were relatively near the zone of major energy
release, being within 80 km. Sites where sand and
silt caused liquefaction damage extended as far
as 130 km.
Only in very exceptional circumstances can sedi-
ment finer than the lower bound for the "poten-
tially liquefiable" sand in Fig. 8 readily liquefy. In
general, natural deposits with a large proportion
of fine grains contain a significant amount of clay.
The presence of even a small amount of cohesion
from clay- or silt-sized material can impede particle
rearrangement during cyclic straining and greatly
increase resistance to cyclic loading. As little as
5% of clay- or silt-sized material in a sand deposit
can make liquefaction significantly less likely than
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
for the same sand deposit lacking fine grains
(National Research Council, 1985, p. 103).
Engineering data show that clay- or silt-bearing
sediment that liquefies and has large strength loss
generally has less than 15% of the particles finer
than 0.005 mm, a liquid limit that is less than 35,
and a water content that is nearly equal to or
greater than the liquid limit (Seed et al., 1983,1985,
Fig. 6; Youd et al., 1989). Cases where the criteria
above fail for clay-bearing deposits have been
discussed by Finn et al. (1994). (The liquid limit,
expressed as a whole number, is the water content
at which a remolded sample has a soft consistency;
at the liquid limit, the sample is on the semisolid-
liquid boundary. Liquid limit is measured in a
standardized test described in any elementary soil
mechanics text.)
Clay- and silt-rich deposits referred to as sensi-
tive or "quick" clays (because they change to a
viscous fluid upon remolding) can break down and
flow during strong seismic shaking, much as lique-
fied sediments do (Updike et al., 1988). Field
situations in which sensitive deposits occur were
described by Mitchell (1976).
The ability to form recognizable fluidization
features generally is greatly diminished in silt and
clayey silt. Even though initial liquefaction may
occur, the low permeability may restrict water
from escaping quickly enough to form fluidization
features that are large enough to be recognized in
the field (Castro, 1987). Similarly, even though a
very soft clay-rich deposit may have had high pore
pressures, the effects may not be recognized in the
field. Silty very fine sand is the finest sediment in
which large seismically induced liquefaction fea-
tures commonly form in the field. However, an
exceptionally loose, highly susceptible silt deposit
can also produce sizable sand blows, providing the
deposit fulfills the engineering criteria described
above (Youd et al., 1989). It has been my experi-
ence, though, that only very rarely are features
encountered in paleoseismic searches that can be
recognized as having originated by liquefaction of
thick silt deposits. The influence of silt content on
liquefaction susceptibility, from an engineering
perspective, has been summarized by Finn et al.
(1994) and by Singh (1994).
11
2.2.2. Relative density
The arrangement or packing of sand grains has
a profound effect on a sediment's liquefaction
susceptibility. Susceptibility of the same sand can
be changed from very high to nonsusceptible
simply because of a change in packing. The state
of looseness or denseness of cohesionless sediments
(also called "compactness" or "relative density")
is generally measured in place by the Standard
Penetration Test (SPT) blow-count method
(American Society for Testing and Materials,
1978). The SPT method is a standard engineering
test used on unconsolidated deposits. The test
provides quantitative data for design of bridge and
building foundations. A sampling tube is driven
into the ground by dropping a 140-1b (63.5-kg)
weight from a height of 30 in. (76 cm). The penet-
ration resistance is measured as the number of
blows required to drive the sampler 1 ft (30.5 cm).
Table 1 shows the relation between blow count
and relative density in terms ranging from "very
loose" to "very dense." (Terms for relative density
in the table are used throughout this text as a
semiquantitative indication of liquefaction suscep-
tibility.) Sands that are moderately dense or looser
liquefy in many field situations. Dense sands
require exceptionally strong shaking, and very
dense sands probably rarely generate residual pore
pressures large enough to form fluidization features
(Seed et al., 1983).
SPT blow-count values in granular deposits
principally reflect states of relative density and
static vertical effective stress, which are the factors
mainly controlling liquefaction susceptibility. Even
secondary factors that affect liquefaction suscepti-
bility, such as grain shape, sediment fabric, weak
sediment bonding, and static horizontal stress, are
probably correctly reflected by SPT measurements,
at least in a qualitative sense (Seed, 1979, p. 212).
Thus, the SPT method is very useful for evaluation
of susceptibility.
The geological environment in which sediment
is deposited generally has a major bearing on
relative density. Windblown sand deposited in
dunes is very loose in many places. Rapidly flowing
streams tend to form more densely packed sedi-
ments, but in quiet water even coarse-grained
sediments can be laid down gently in a loose
12 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
condition. Large quantities of loose sand tend to
be deposited where small streams empty into much
larger streams or lakes. Deltas are especially favor-
able sites for thick, very loose deposits. Near the
ocean, the transition zone from a rapidly flowing
stream to a tidal estuary presents a setting where
thick, loose, clean sands can be deposited. In brief,
there are many local and widespread geological
environments where susceptible sediment occurs.
The field geologist must reconstruct ancient deposi-
tional settings to predict locations of susceptible
sediment for a paleoliquefaction study.
2.2.3. Depth to water table
Liquefaction susceptibility decreases strongly
with increasing depth to the water table. The extent
of the control is indicated in Table 2, which relates
the liquefaction susceptibility in San Fernando
Valley (California) both to depth of ground-water
table and age of the deposit. A high susceptibility
for this example means that a ground motion with
10 cycles of acceleration at 0.2 x g (this is equiva-
lent to shaking by an earthquake having a magni-
tude of ~6.5) is required to produce sand blows.
A moderate susceptibility requires 30 cycles at
0.5 x g ( M ~ 8 ) . Table 2 shows that lowering the
water table as little as several meters can change
the susceptibility from high to low. Such a change
in water-table depth, even seasonally, is common
in many field settings.
Liquefaction with extensive venting can also
readily occur beneath the water surface. Venting
beneath water is characterized by sediment, partic-
ularly the finer constituents, forming sand volca-
Table 2
Influence of age of deposit and depth to water table on liquefac-
tion susceptibility in the San Fernando Valley, California
Age of deposit Depth to water table (m)
0-3 3-10 >10
Latest Holocene high low nil
Earlier Holocene moderate low nil
Late Pleistocene low nil nil
High and moderate susceptibility are defined in 2.2.3, "Depth
to water table." From National Research Council ( 1985, p. 91 ).
noes that are much wider and thinner than those
formed under subaerial conditions.
2.2.4. Depth and thickness of strata
Liquefaction during earthquake shaking fre-
quently originates in a zone as shallow as 1.5-2 m
below the ground surface (Bennett, 1984;
Obermeier et al., 1986). In regions of very strong
shaking, as for example in the meizoseismal region
of the M 9.2 earthquake of Alaska in 1964, the
source beds that liquefied and vented sand were
apparently as shallow as about 0.5 m (Walsh et al.,
1995). Such shallow source zones can give rise to
many large dikes and other features. In special
field situations, the top of the source zone can be
shallower yet, only a few tenths of a meter (Sims,
1973; Audemard and de Santis, 1991); for such
shallow depths, though, liquefaction seems to
occur mainly where a thin sand stratum is confined
between clay-rich layers, and the evidence for
liquefaction generally is the development of fea-
tures such as recumbent folds along the thin sand
layer. The sand layer has served as a failure plane.
Evidence for liquefaction at a depth as shallow as
a few tenths of a meter is not observed often in
paleoseismic studies, perhaps because of destruc-
tion by weathering. At the other extreme for depth,
the source zone for liquefaction can exceed 20 m
(Seed, 1979). The most common depth is a range
between a few meters and about 10 m. Optimal
depth is about 2-4 m in many field settings where
the water table is within a few meters of the surface.
A 1-m thickness of sand is generally required to
form dikes or sills in much abundance. This also
is a minimum thickness to systematically distin-
guish soft-sediment deformation features from
earthquake-induced liquefaction features in many
field situations. However, at a few sites in coastal
Washington and Indiana, I have observed sand
strata as thin as 0.3 m that liquefied and formed
dikes whose heights exceed 1 m. No significant
horizontal ground displacements occurred at these
sites. The 0.3-m-thick sand strata graded down
abruptly into thick sandy gravel beds that showed
no evidence of liquefaction. In an exceptional case,
Tuttle and Seeber (1991) reported tracing small
sand dikes down to a 8- to 10-cm-thick sand source
at a depth of 2.5-3 m. Very strong shaking may
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
be required to form dikes from such thin source
strata.
Liquefaction of a source stratum less than 0.3
m thick can lead to major lateral spreads or flow
failures, providing the stratum has large lateral
extent (Youd and Perkins, 1987, p. 1377). Indeed,
large horizontal movements may be required to
produce recognizable liquefaction effects wherever
the source strata are extremely thin. Strata of fine
sand as thin as a few centimeters that liquefied in
association with spreading, and also formed scat-
tered small dikes, have been observed in lacustrine
deposits in Utah (J.R. Keaton, SHB AGRA, Inc.,
Salt Lake City, Utah, written commun., 1993).
Lacustrine sediments seem to be most favorable
for development of liquefaction effects in thin
strata because of the large areal extent of the strata.
Whether liquefaction-induced ground rupturing
occurs at the surface and whether sand vents
through the ruptures commonly depend on the
relation of the thickness of the source stratum
(stratum H2 in Fig. 7) to the thickness of the
overlying cap of nonliquefiable sediment (stratum
H1). Guidelines for critical thicknesses of strata
H1 and H~ for ground rupturing have been devel-
oped on the basis of a limited number of field
observations (Ishihara, 1985). The curves are
based on behavior during a few strong earthquakes
(M~7.5), and I suspect that they reflect ground
fracturing exclusively by the mechanism of hydrau-
lic fracturing. A cap thickness exceeding 10 m
prevents ground rupture even in the most favorable
circumstances for liquefaction, according to
Ishihara (Fig. 9). A cap 1 m thick can be breached
whenever accelerations exceed about 0.2 x g if the
thickness of liquefied sand exceeds 1 m. Supportive
observations in the meizoseismal region of the
1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes show that
the density of dikes in plan view and the amount
of venting are greatly enhanced where the cap is
very thin, at least for subaerial venting (Obermeier,
1989). Field situations where the curves of Fig. 9
are not applicable, even in a qualitative sense, are
noted in the following section.
2.2.5. Site effects and nature of seismic shaking
The curves in Fig. 9 tend to highly overestimate
accelerations at sites of lateral spreading because
13
of enhancement of ground breakage toward
streams and toward even slight topographic
depressions (T.L. Youd, Brigham Young Univ.,
written commun., 1994). Fig. 10 illustrates break-
age patterns commonly observed in the field.
Increased breakage also tends to occur where the
base of the cap dips toward a stream or depression
(Hamada et al., 1986).
Another very important factor in breakup of
the cap is oscillatory shaking of the cap above
liquefied sediment (Youd and Garris, in press).
An oscillating cap that is floating on liquefied
sediment experiences intensified lateral spreading
and breakup of the cap, especially where strong
shaking occurs for a long duration. These effects
are likely to be of increasing importance with an
increasing earthquake magnitude. Breakage of the
cap is probably caused by the direct action of
seismic shaking at the ground surface, which
strains and pulls apart a brittle, clay-rich cap that
lies immediately above the sediment that liquefied.
Reflected and refracted waves along the ground
surface may have important roles (Wang et al.,
1983), but documentation is very incomplete.
Possibly either surface (Rayleigh or Love) waves
or body waves may be involved. Engineering
analysis (Pease and O'Rourke, 1995) indicates that
body waves were the driving mechanism for oscilla-
tion-induced ground failures during the 1989 Loma
Prieta, California, earthquake ( M = 7.1 ). My field
observations indicate that surface waves caused
breakup of the cap, even far beyond the meizoseis-
mal zone of the great New Madrid earthquakes of
1811-1812.
2.2.6. Geological details of the cap
Minor characteristics of the cap also can have
a profound influence on the manifestations of flow
features. Holes left by decayed roots or dug by
crayfish can be used as conduits for venting and
can remain approximately circular where liquefac-
tion has not been severe (Audemard and de Santis,
1991 ). Vertical, planar dikes normally form where
a clay-rich cap is weathered, even slightly, and has
preexisting vertical fractures or planes of weakness
(Obermeier et al., 1990). Thick sills tend to form
beneath a very flexible, peaty cap (Clague et al.,
1992), whereas a very strong, brittle, mechanically
14 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

I I I I I

12-

11-

g 10-
-1-

IJJ
9-

5
8-
z
'.'~J
:.:.:+.... Ma,,. acc. .i,i:t
.:'i~ -
orj
7-
LU
.-I
fill
!(-j - -0.2 g .!:::it .!:.iJ -
<
I
LI_
W 6 -
'i E
} :i11
i
:'i':'l
Max.acc.; j
-0.3 9 """[
::.:/
:i:'::.'/
:D -

0
..J
5- o Max. acc. ..'.../ _
0
IJ _
:-.:~:1 .i:J -o.4-o.5 ~ "
o9
o9
:.",.:::1 ..i."7 :"
zv .
4- " !:.:/ ../ :::.57 :"-~/
...(..;, -
.~::::/ . ..:...:: y ...::':: /
-I- 3- .::i::7 ..:,:.....>" . ,...:k::l
b- ,'..:/ .-....:>.:" .. :.'..'.'::-'"/
,''.'" " ".. ~ " i " ".'.. "" "..."'~

2 -
.'..:'.../ ...:'::....
..:.':'~y y y .... .:~55.:> - y
. ......:'7.-."~
)!./:.i~ >" . . : : ~ . > ~
..../....7 ... :.~:>'-
1-

I I t I ~ I I I I
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THICKNESS OF SURFACE LAYER, H 1 (m)

Fig. 9. Proposed boundary curves relating thickness of nonliquefiable surface layer to thickness of the liquefiable zone as a function
of peak earthquake accelerations required to induce venting or ground rupturing at the surface. From Ishihara (1985).

isotropic cap, especially if sand rich, tends to favor An apparent contradiction to recurrent lique-
formation of large craters (Obermeier et al., 1990). faction at the same site is the observation that
Other important factors are discussed where case liquefaction commonly densities sediments.
histories are presented. Densification should reduce the liquefaction sus-
ceptibility. Worldwide engineering measurements
2.2.7. P r e v i o u s liquefaction before and after occurrences of liquefaction indi-
Both historical observations and field paleoliq- cate that thick zones (> 10 m) of loosely to moder-
uefaction evidence show that liquefaction has a ately compact sands in the zone that liquefied
strong tendency to recur at the same site, even to during shaking were densified substantially when-
the extent of repeatedly using the same dike ever liquefaction was severe (Koizumi, 1966;
for venting. Such a tendency occurs for earth- Ohsaki, 1970). However, measurable densification
quakes either closely or widely separated in does not always occur, as shown by careful meas-
time (Kuribayashi and Tatsuoka, 1975; Youd urements by T.L. Holzer (written commun., 1994)
and Hoose, 1978; Youd, 1984b; Saucier, 1989; for the Superstition Hills, California, earthquake
Obermeier et al., 1990; Tuttle et al., 1992). ( M = 6.6) of November 1987.
 S.F. Oberrneier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76 15

Fig. 10. Commonlyobservedpattern of major groundcrackingproducedby lateral-spreadmovementstoward a topographicdepres-

sion. SituationA showspattern alongstraightand concavebanks. SituationB showspattern alongslightlyconvexbanks. Situation
C showspattern alongmoderatelyconvexbanks. From McCullochand Bonilla(1970).

Even where liquefaction has been severe and
repeated, density increases may not be uniform,
and engineering data show that sediments can
remain quite susceptible. For example, in the mei-
zoseismal region of the 1811-1812 New Madrid
earthquakes, where liquefaction was severe, the
uppermost meter or so of sand directly beneath
the impermeable cap is still moderately to highly
susceptible at many places, and, beneath this thin
zone, the sand grades to a moderately susceptible
condition that extends to a much greater depth
(see engineering boring logs in Obermeier, 1989).
The relatively loose zone beneath the cap likely
originated because water collected there and loos-
ened the sands prior to venting, as well as emplaced
sills of loose sand along the base of the cap.
Laboratory model studies on layered sand and
clay beds also show formation of a loosened sand
zone along the base of clay beds (Elgamal et al.,
1989; Fiegel and Kutter, 1994).
Another well-documented case study demon-
strates the possibility of only minor densification
by an occurrence of strong liquefaction. In the
meizoseismal region of the 1886 Charleston, South
Carolina, earthquake, source sands beneath a low-
permeability, humate-cemented cap remain in a
loose condition at sites of abundant sand blows
(Martin and Clough, 1990). These South Carolina
sites experienced at least three previous episodes
of strong liquefaction during the Holocene; still,
there is evidence for some densification caused by
repeated liquefaction at the same sites because
younger craters are smaller than older craters.
Data from studies in Japan show that the pres-
ence of a cap of low permeability may not be
required for sands to maintain the ability to reliq-
uefy. The upward flow of water from a liquefied
zone at depth appears to be able to loosen sand
at shallow depth where sand extends to the surface.
This loosening may occur within 2-5 m of the
surface (Kishida, 1966, p. 75). Such a process of
loosening has also been observed in the laboratory
(Scott and Zuckerman, 1973).
In contrast to densification of loose sand at
depth, field data suggest that, in special circum-
stances, relatively dense sands may be loosened
significantly by an occurrence of liquefaction. Data
from Koizumi (1966) and Kishida (1966) suggest
that such loosening may occur where the dense
sand is underlain by a much looser sand that
liquefied. An upward flow of water through the
dense sand apparently caused fluidization and
loosening.
In the 1979 earthquake of Imperial Valley,
California, a 3-m thickness of source sand for a
large lateral spread remained loose beneath the
cap (Youd, 1984b). The large shearing associated
with the lateral spreading may have maintained
the source sand in a highly susceptible state.
During shear, granular soils can either compact or
16 S.I( Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
dilate depending on the compactness of the sedi-
ment, the confining pressure, and the amount of
shear deformation. Except for very dense packings,
sands initially tend to become more compact as
shear strain is applied. At large shear strains such
as those for lateral spreading, all but very loose
sands or sands under high confining pressure tend
to dilate toward a relatively loose condition
(Youd, 1984b).
2.2.8. Age and mineralogy of sediments
The age of sediment can have a strong influence
on liquefaction susceptibility. At many places in
the Western United States, sufficient changes occur
within 500 years to reduce susceptibility from high
to moderate (Youd and Perkins, 1978). In this
region, the susceptibility commonly decreases from
moderate to low as age increases from 500 years
to earliest Holocene. Pleistocene sediment is lique-
fiable only in exceptional circumstances, and no
modern occurrences of liquefaction have been
observed in pre-Pleistocene sediments.
In the Eastern United States, however,
Pleistocene sediment remains highly susceptible to
liquefaction over large regions. Large liquefaction
features formed in loose sediment as old as
200 000-240 000 years during the 1886 Charleston
earthquake (Obermeier et al., 1990). Apparently,
a very high ground-water table in combination
with weakly acidic (organic acids) ground water
has prevented significant bonding in the very
quartz rich source sands.
In the Central United States, abundant liquefac-
tion features developed in sediments as old as late
Wisconsinan (about 15000-20000 years old)
during the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.
There also, the ground-water table appears to have
been very high through the Holocene (Wesnousky
and Leffler, 1992). The source sands in the New
Madrid earthquake region contain a wide variety
of minerals, derived largely from glaciers that
passed over terranes of igneous and sedimentary
rocks. Thus, in the Charleston region and the New
Madrid earthquake region, source sands of very
different mineralogies remained quite susceptible
to liquefaction for a very long time.
Changes in liquefaction susceptibility through
time probably depend strongly on fluctuations in
the depth of ground water and on water chemistry.
Where the water-table depth fluctuates greatly,
bonding can occur as a result of chemical reactions
or an influx of clay. Alternatively, only very minor
changes in bonding may develop in sediment much
older than Holocene if the ground-water table has
remained very high.
3. Criteria for an earthquake-induced liquefaction
origin
A set of criteria has been developed for deter-
mining whether observed sediment deformation
was caused by seismically induced liquefaction. A
seismic origin can be established if the following
conditions are met.
( 1 t The features have sedimentary characteristics
that are consistent with an earthquake-induced
liquefaction origin; namely, there is evidence
of an upward-directed hydraulic force that
was suddenly applied and was of short
duration.
(2) The features preferably have sedimentary
characteristics consistent with historically doc-
umented observations of the earthquake-
induced liquefaction processes in a similar
physical setting. In addition, preferably there
is more than one type of feature commonly
caused by seismically induced liquefaction.
Such features include dikes, sills, vented sedi-
ment, lateral spreads, and some types of soft-
sediment deformations.
(3) The features occur in ground-water settings
where suddenly applied, strong hydraulic
forces of short duration could not be reason-
ably expected except from earthquake-induced
liquefaction. In particular, the possibility of
an origin from artesian conditions or non-
seismic landsliding must be eliminated.
(4) Similar features occur at multiple locations,
preferably at least within a few kilometers of
one another, in similar geological and ground-
water settings. The regional pattern of size
and abundance of features should be consis-
tent with a pattern of shaking associable with
an earthquake in which there is a core area
where the effects are most severe.
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
(5) The evidence for age of the features supports
the interpretation that they formed in one or
more discrete, short episodes that individually
affected a large area and that the episodes
were separated by relatively long time periods
during which no such features formed.
Determination of the regional pattern of size
and abundance of the suspected liquefaction fea-
tures may be critical to interpretation of origin.
Preferably at least 20-30 km of cumulative fresh
exposure is examined. Such a regional approach
to a paleoliquefaction study helps eliminate the
possibility that nonseismic processes are responsi-
ble for creating the features, and it helps to develop
a sense of the various processes that deform sedi-
ments. The next section illustrates application of
the five criteria above and presents examples of
how an understanding of the local geological set-
ting is critical to interpretations.
4. Historical and prehistoric liquefaction - selected
studies
In this section, I describe earthquake-induced
liquefaction features in four geological-geographic
settings in the United States: coastal South
Carolina, the New Madrid seismic zone of
Missouri, the Wabash Valley seismic zone of
Indiana and Illinois, and coastal Washington State.
The two latter areas have not had historical lique-
faction. The discussion emphasizes the need to
consider the local geological setting in deducing
an earthquake origin. Special consideration is
given to elimination of artesian springs and non-
seismic landsliding as possible sources of observed
deformations, because these are the mechanisms
most likely to produce fluidization effects that
mimic those of seismic origin. Where possible, the
magnitudes of the prehistoric earthquakes are esti-
mated by comparison with historical liquefaction-
producing earthquakes in the region.
4.1. Coastal South Carolina
The strongest historical earthquake in the
Southeastern United States took place in 1886
17
near Charleston, SC. The estimated magnitude is
about 7.5 (Johnston, 1994). Clear evidence of
seismotectonic conditions in the region is lacking,
and this lack prompted searches for prehistoric
liquefaction features. Liquefaction evidence has
since been found for many strong prehistoric earth-
quakes (Obermeier et al., 1987; Amick et al.,
1990). Results of the searches were described by
Obermeier et al. (1990) and are shown in Fig. 11.
The figure shows the approximate boundary of the
1886 earthquake meizoseismal zone, shows the
sites where swarms of liquefaction features
described as "craterlets" were formed in 1886
(Dutton, 1889; see Fig. 12 herein), and shows the
sites where liquefaction features predating 1886
were found. The prehistoric liquefaction-induced
features are mainly ancient craterlets that are
now filled.
None of the pre-1886 craterlets (called craters
in the rest of this article) found has an expression
on the ground surface that is discernible by on-site
surface examination or on aerial photographs.
These features are seen only in walls of excav-
ations. At most sites shown in Fig. 11, at least
three or four pre-1886 craters are exposed within
a few hundred meters of one another.
The physical setting of the region within 50 km
of the South Carolina coast is conducive to wide-
spread liquefaction. That region is known locally
as the "low country" because it has low local relief
(1-3 m) and low altitude (0-30 m) and because
vast expanses are under water much of the year.
Most of the Carolina low country is covered by a
5- to 15-m-thick blanket of unconsolidated
Quaternary marine and fluvial deposits, which lies
on semilithified Tertiary sediment. The Quaternary
deposits primarily occur as a series of well-defined,
temporally discrete, interglacial beaches and
associated back-barrier and shelf deposits that
form belts subparallel to the present shoreline.
Increasingly older beach deposits are progressively
farther inland and at higher altitudes. Most beach
deposits consist of clean, medium to fine sand.
Most of the craters discovered were on the
ancient beach deposits. The search for liquefaction
features was generally restricted to the beach
deposits younger than about 250 000 years and
older than about 80 000 years (Fig. 11). Sand in
18 S.F. ObermeieuEngineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

+
Nonlm~mott I ~ _ + . . + . . . ~
tctztw) =#e wed~rqt \

Coealtssleareaheaving numerous wldetpreaad

liquefaction felturea probably from
prehistoric eaarthquake=whol4z epicenters
were f i r from Chartelton

~ ---- Approximlzte boundary of

1886 apicentreal region

fL == A r m of eabuncl~mtcr~ler=
in 11186,from 0utton (18811)

Prehistoric liquefaction sit=

,,t, from Obermeier It zd. tlMT)
& from Amic:k t t s1,(1210)

ii
~ro)timaate northern limit of historiclll,
documented =n~lt liquefKtion f e m u ~
caused by the I!116 earthquake

t ....................
IKoproximeateaIouthern limit of 1806 eearthqueake
IklUefzction future=, == determined by
hi=mtoriclldlta tinctextlnlive field studies
81'

~ ++~'-+"r ,. ~ wt.
v . ~ +.

tNl~XI~P ~

o M so ~tEs

Fig. 11+ Coastal portion of South Carolina and southern North Carolina containing liquefaction sites. Unshaded onshore region is
predominantly marine deposits younger than about 240 000 years. Numerous ancient beach ridges lie in this unshaded region. Shading
denotes region of older marine deposits that was not reconnoitered, except locally, Younger fluvial sediments occur locally. All
liquefaction sites along the Edisto River are in fluvial sediments. Almost every liquefaction site shown represents an area where
numerous liquefaction features are exposed in a network of drainage ditches several kilometers in length, Numerous sites in and near
the 1886 meizoseismal (epicenter) zone are not shown because of lack of space, Index map shows coastal region searched.
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
;::.,
.... .. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . - "
(a)
(b)
Fig. 12. Craters produced by the 1886 Charleston, South
Carolina, earthquake. (A) An 1886 crater near the present
Charleston airport. Note that the crater contains sand sloughing
toward the lowest parts and that there is a constructional sand
volcano located in the fight part of the crater (at arrow). The
crater is surrounded by a thin blanket of sand partly veneered
with cracked mud. Sketch by H. Livingston from a photograph.
(B) A typical crater produced by the 1886 earthquake. Note
the thin blanket of ejected sand around the crater and sand and
clasts of dark soil within the crater. Photograph from the
archives of the Charleston Museum.
these deposits is loose at many places. Normal
depth to the water table in these sediments is about
1-2 m, even in topographically elevated regions.
19
Deposits older than about 250 000 years have such
a low susceptibility to liquefaction (due to effects
of chemical weathering) that the likelihood of their
liquefying has been extremely low during the late
Pleistocene and Holocene. Deposits younger than
about 80 000 years generally have such a high
. ~ water table that exposures are very limited.
Tabular sand dikes were discovered in fluvial
terraces and in back-barrier environments where
the cap is rich in clay. Sills were observed only
rarely. The following discussion concentrates on
the craters, because the section below discussing
liquefaction effects in the New Madrid seismic
zone adequately deals with characteristics of tabu-
lar sand dikes and sills, which are the types of
liquefaction-induced features normally formed
where there is a thick clay-rich cap.
4.1.1. Characterization of craters
Fig. 13 is a schematic vertical section through a
typical crater site on an ancient beach ridge on a
barrier bar. According to eyewitness observations
in 1886, "craterlets are found in greatest abun-
dance in belts parallel with (beach) ridges and
along their anticlines" (Peters and Herrmann,
1986, p. 68). Thus, the locations of crater sites we
discovered are consistent with historical
observations.
Almost all craters that predate 1886 have shapes
and sizes similar to those of the 1886 craters of
Fig. 12 except that the craters are now filled with
sediment. Fig. 12 shows moderate to large craters
produced by the 1886 earthquake. Examination of
photographs taken in 1886 shows that surficial
sheets of vented sand around crater rims normally
had thicknesses of about 15-20 cm. Maximum
reported thickness of vented sand was 1 m, and
the maximum crater diameter was about 6 m
(Dutton, 1889).
The crater sites are located where weathering
has imposed a strong soil profile on the ancient
beaches (Fig. 14). Near the surface, a thin A
horizon (organic matter and a small percentage of
sand) overlies a thin, very light gray E (eluviated)
horizon. The E horizon overlies a thick, weakly
cemented, black Bh horizon (humate-enriched
sand containing a small percentage o f clay) that
grades down rather sharply into a variably thick;
20 S.IE Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

SE NW

./Wlta't table ~ . / - ~ i l l o d crlNlrll -'r--

t~oom w~ ~, . . . . . . . / \ ~_
n,po,m ,,t , , u , ~ , . , , A " - ~ ' : . - . . " I ~ \ 2 to,,o m

.~ a ~ ..,~.. ;..!.;.~.:.:'.-....;....... . . . . " ' T~V

Fig. 13. Schematic vertical section of representative ancient barrier bar (beach ridge) showing sediment types, ground-water-table
locations, filled craters, and Bh (humate-rich) soil horizons. Modern South Carolina shoreline is located southeastward. Lagoonal
clay deposit at left is younger and lower in elevation than the barrier-bar deposit.

/Nonbedded~U/-~..,.. :.... .-:.i..".

~c_mstter.riehsand//j~/ . . . . .. ; . . ' . ..... : . . , ' / J J , / / / /J/
/////////./~/~,'.": Layer 5: Structureless sand;'. i~/Latmiln: ted sequence
Undisturbed ~/ < / / / / / / / / < / /.." .. . . . . . . . . . .". . . . . .. . . / / o t a t e r n a t n g c e a n
~.."--U//U/ ."..'.:...
' : :'',,."..'' ."-. . ..'. : :';'.":..':.'-"~/and o rgan?_c-_matter-
. . . . . . .
~.~ .... ..~.'. .. . .......
. . . . . . .
. ~...." .
.

Layer 3: Sand and

many small clasts

N%'..." ... -. : . ...... LaYer 2: Sand and scattered. '..'\ .~t.-<.'..

_ _ _ A B-C ""~: .. "..clasts of clean C-horizon sand and . : .- : ~ - / B-C
7 Crater/ ~....: ~.A-.ancl Bh-horizon mate.al ' ".." /
-- --C . . . . t .... Sk
~'-~i ~ = I/~ Graded
zone

"-a--~Y
e~B hS~n rdzal~d/artge'Clla-' t~'~ 1
-- Tubelike dikes containing -
. . . . . . structureless, clean sand -
--
--i
0
i i
15 I N C H E S
i
--
_~--- ~-C-~ -Bedded clean sand~i
__] I I I
0 3~ C E N T I M E T E R S - -
NO VERTICAL EXAGGERATION

Fig. 14. Schematic vertical section of filled liquefaction crater that forms a bowl in three dimensions. Letters correspond to soil
horizons. The filled crater in this figure long predates the 1886 Charleston earthquake, on the basis o f thickness of the Bh horizon
in the filled crater. Insert shows zonation within the crater.

light-colored B - C horizon (transition zone defined zones of sediment. The fill materials are
between B and C horizons). The B - C unit grades fine to medium sand and clasts from the Bh, B - C ,
down into C-horizon sands (parent material). The and C horizons of the host, and there is sand from
craters cut the solum (the horizons above C) and depths much below the exposed C horizon. Walls
the C horizon. Within the filled crater are well- of the crater are commonly smooth and sharply
 S.E Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
defined when viewed closely, especially in the
lower part.
The Bh horizon of the laterally adjoining undis-
turbed host generally is abruptly thicker than the
Bh horizon on the filling in the crater. With
increasing age, the Bh horizon of the filled crater
is thicker, is more clay rich, and has better devel-
oped soil structure. Craters older than about 5000
years have Bh horizons that approach the thickness
and development of those in host sediment enclos-
ing the craters.
The filled craters are characterized by a sequence
of five layers. Layer 5 (Fig. 14) is a structureless,
gray, humate-enriched and -cemented sand, which
overlies a thinly laminated sequence of alternating
light- and dark-colored sands (layer 4). The lami-
nae typically are discontinuous and irregular in
thickness but generally are 2-3 mm thick. The
dark color is due to humate staining. The basal
bed sharply overlies a medium-gray structureless
sand (layer 3), which contains many small clasts
of Bh material and wood. Layer 3 grades down
into a structureless sand zone (layer 2) containing
many intermediate-sized clasts (1-5 cm in diame-
ter). Layer 2 grades down into layer 1, which
contains densely packed intermediate-sized and
large (> 5 cm) clasts of Bh material in a structure-
less sand matrix; the large clasts have diameters
exceeding 25 cm in many filled craters. Beneath
the bowl are dikes containing clean sand. The
dikes are oval to circular in plan view,
The filled craters are interpreted to have formed
in the following phases: (1) a large hole is exca-
vated at the surface by the violent upward dis-
charge of the liquefied mixture of sand and water;
(2) a sand rim accumulates around the hole by
continued expulsion of liquefied sand and water;
(3) sand, soil clasts, and water are churned briefly
in the lower part of the bowl, followed by settling
of the larger clasts and formation of the graded-
fill sequence of sediment (layers 1-3); and (4) the
crater is intermittently filled by adjacent surface
materials during the weeks to years after the
eruption. The deeper part of the stratified post-
eruption fall is layer 4, which remains laminated.
Layer 5 is in the strongly bioturbated zone and
thus has no stratification. The sand blanket ejected
from the crater is indistinguishable in the field
21
from the surface and near-surface (A, E, and Bh)
soil horizons because the blanket has been incorpo-
rated within these soil horizons.
The presence of friable, angular clasts from the
B-C, C, and Bh horizons in the graded-fill portion
(layers 1-3) is consistent with a short-lived, churn-
ing type of upwelling from the vent. Water com-
monly flows for a day or so from vents, as indicated
by worldwide observations. The violent, boiling
phase is much briefer. Hence, the presence of
friable clasts argues against a long-term artesian
spring origin; such a spring would abrade, round,
and disaggregate the clasts. In addition, springs
are very unlikely to form in the topographic-
geological setting at some of the crater sites
(Fig. 13).
An earthquake origin for the craters is also
supported by the presence of sand-fiUed tabular
fissures, whose overall shape and dimensions
strongly suggest that they are "incipient craters."
Such fissures as shown in Fig. 15 are rather
common in the meizoseismal zone of the 1886
earthquake. The figure shows a V-shaped fissure
connecting to a tubelike dike that transported sand
upward from depth. The tabular fissures in the
V-portion widen with depth until they connect to
a single, near-vertical, large, sand-filled tube. The
V-shaped fissures probably represent the early
phase of development of craters; upward forces,
however, were too weak to excavate the overlying
material.
It is possible that liquefaction produced craters
because of a fortuitous combination of sediment
properties. The source beds that liquefied were
exceptionally susceptible to liquefaction; they were
loose (engineering sense), contained uniformly
sized fine sand, and were free of clay (Martin and
Clough, 1990). These properties would cause the
source beds to liquefy abruptly; once liquefied, the
sand-water mixture would flow readily. I suspect
that the liquefied sand strata quickly migrated
laterally to a hole such as that left by a decayed
root. The sudden application of an upward force
around the hole caused the formation of a
V-shaped crack. The liquefied sand violently
vented because of its exceptional ability to flow.
The V-shaped cracks developed because overlying
sediment is isotropically cemented with humate,
22 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

- Shovel

BANK
OVERHANG
, , , ...,

.... . , , ~ . , .,, , /,h~

/,/
~Fiiledcrater / /" / " / ,,'%
~/
" "
./
,Z
,
/ /
, , /
/

//~ much predating / ."/ ," "/'~k~//Y, , //\/

",/ 1886 earthquake , . , / ,
/ / . - . , / /

F-- . . . . . .

C-horizon sand ....

- - : : - : -: Tubelike di

0 20 INCHES

FLOOR OF DITCH 0 30 CENTIMETERS

NOVERTICALEXAGGERATION

Fig. 15. Schematic vertical section showing V-shaped, sand-filled fissures that probably represent the early phase of crater development.
The fissures are interpreted as resulting from liquefaction during the 1886 Charleston earthquake. Sand in the fissures came from a
depth of 6 m, on the basis of grain size and mineralogy. Fissures cut soil horizon developed on filled crater predating 1886.

has no pronounced planes of weakness, and is very craters) through a clay-rich cap; some "craters"
brittle; the process is similar to formation of a (actually surface depressions) as much as 10 m in
conchoidal fracture in an isotropic, brittle medium diameter and extremely shallow (25-40 cm) also
such as glass, when struck by a rock. formed (Reimnitz and Marshall, 1965). These very
Liquefaction-induced craters are common large "craters" apparently developed as sand
during earthquakes worldwide. Good examples for vented to the surface and undermined a clay-rich
various earthquakes in Japan are shown in articles cap, thereby making a swale.
by Kawakami and Asada (1966) and by Iwasaki In Argentina, Youd and Keefer (1994,
(1986). Craters were especially prevalent during pp. 227-229) have shown that preexisting holes
the Niigata earthquake (M=7.5) of 1964; soils through a clay-rich cap later led to erosion of large
around Niigata typically are sand rich all the way craters in response to liquefaction during an earth-
to the ground surface (Katayama et al., 1966), quake having M=7.4. Craters also formed in a
much as for the Charleston crater region. For the clay-rich cap in the Nile River Valley during the
Northeastern United States, sketches of prehistoric Dahshure, Egypt, earthquake (M=5.9) of 1992
seismically induced craters in host sand deposits (Elgamal et al., 1993). No mechanism for forma-
are in Tuttle (1994). tion of the craters in Egypt can be demonstrated
Craters can also form in a clay-rich cap. Craters because of the lack of geological and geotechnical
commonly develop in the clay-rich cap along the data at the crater sites. However, the regularity of
length of cracks induced by seismic shaking (for alignment of the craters suggests that manmade
example, Swenson, 1964, p. 162). In Alaska during holes led to formation of the craters.
the great earthquake of 1964, craters having a Another field situation that may lead to forma-
relatively small diameter (many ~ 1 m) formed at tion of a crater occurs where liquefaction applies
sites of violent venting that eroded deep holes (the a large hydraulic force to the base of a thin, clay-
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
rich layer that is bounded above and below by
sand (Elgamal et al., 1989, p. 242); the small
resistance to both shearing and tension in the host
sediment above the base of the clay layer could
explain development of a crater in preference to
other modes of ground failure. I have observed
where this mechanism probably led to formation
of small craters in the meizoseismal region of the
1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.
4.1.2. Prehistoric seismicity
Some filled craters in South Carolina contained
small twigs and bark from trees. This woody
matter is concentrated along the contact between
layers 3 and 4 (Fig. 14) and obviously fell into the
open pits soon after they formed. Radiocarbon
data on such matter in scattered craters yield
approximate ages of 600, 1250, 3200, 5150, and
older than 5150 years, documenting five prehistoric
earthquakes in the Charleston area (Amick and
Gelinas, 1991).
Estimates of the magnitudes of the South
Carolina prehistoric earthquakes are provided by
comparison of their liquefaction effects with
worldwide observations and also by comparison
with observations of liquefaction in South Carolina
in 1886. Data from the 1886 earthquake furnish a
data base for the regional development of craters
as well as their size and abundance. Worldwide
data show that features having a liquefaction
origin can be developed at magnitudes as low as
about 5 but that a magnitude of about 5.5 is the
lower limit at which liquefaction effects are rela-
tively common (Ambraseys, 1988). The source
sands that produced craters in coastal South
Carolina commonly are highly susceptible to lique-
faction and flow; because of this susceptibility, one
might suggest that a low-magnitude earthquake
could have produced the prehistoric craters.
However, numerous prehistoric craters in the
Charleston area, many having diameters in excess
of 3 m, clearly are too large to have been the result
of marginal liquefaction. Such large diameters
suggest that the earthquake that produced them
had a magnitude much greater than 5-5.5. In
addition, the prehistoric craters that formed 600
and 1250 years ago extend along the coast at least
23
as far as the craters produced by the earthquake
of 1886 that had a magnitude of about 7.5.
Interpretations of prehistoric earthquake magni-
tudes must account for liquefaction susceptibility.
Principal variables are water-table depth and the
compactness of the source sands. The water table
is presently very shallow, being less than 1-2 m
below the ground surface. Almost certainly the
water table has been essentially unchanged for the
past few thousand years at many of the crater sites
(Amick et al., 1990). Just prior to the 1886 earth-
quake, the Charleston area was experiencing an
extraordinarily wet period, so water-table condi-
tions were optimal for production of liquefaction
features (Taber, 1914, p. 126). Standard
Penetration Test (SPT) data also show that the
source sands are so loose as to readily liquefy.
Sand deposits at some liquefaction sites have SPT
blow counts as low as 10 or less (Martin and
Clough, 1990). It is difficult to conceive of any
mechanism that would have made the sands much
more compact when the prehistoric earthquakes
occurred. In summary, the liquefaction susceptibil-
ity was high at many places when the 1886 earth-
quake struck.
As noted above, craters having ages of 600 and
1250 years extend along the coast at least as far
as craters of the 1886 earthquake extend. A com-
parison of the size (diameter) of the craters shows
that those formed 600 years and 1250 years ago
are larger than the 1886 craters, both in the vicinity
of Charleston and far away. Consideration of all
factors suggests that these prehistoric earthquakes
were at least as strong as the 1886 event that had
a magnitude of about 7.5.
Paleoliquefaction evidence for the event that
took place 3200 years ago has been found only in
the vicinity of Charleston. The existence of abun-
dant, exceptionally large craters for this event
might suggest that the earthquake was exception-
ally large, but the limited size of the affected area
suggests otherwise. The absence of craters far from
Charleston might be explained alternatively by a
lower sea level and thus a lower water table, or by
a generally drier climate earlier during this part of
the Holocene (Amick et al., 1990). Absence of the
3200-year-old craters far from Charleston might
also be explained by an exceptionally shallow
24 S. E Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

earthquake, in which energy attenuated rapidly 94" 92 90~ 88" 86"

within a short distance.

For craters 5000 years old or older, there is a
J IOWA .~..
greatly diminished chance for preservation of i r'., i HIGAN/
organic material that can be dated with accuracy, J ) ILLINOIS : -4
so it is difficult to evaluate the magnitude of such i .j I I

old events. i : I
40" i- I } q
Some of the craters far to the north of the "X WabashRiver .INDIANA /
Charleston area, in the vicinity of the South
"\ V~bash F ' ~ !
Carolina-North Carolina border (Fig. 11), have ~ Valley [ ~ / I:)
ages different from those of craters to the south. i St. LoUiSe,) seismic --./. ..,' / I
This difference suggests that another meizoseismal I|L MISSOURI " zone / ,./ / ;
region may be located in the vicinity of the State ! Madrid \-: I /"-/Oh}oRiver t
boundary. I'
seismic / ,--" ...... I
:,/~_ . r~P_NIUCKY
zone -- v.. ,~ '" "-~. ,-t
4.2. N e w Madrid seismic zone

The 1811-1812 sequence of earthquakes in the

Central United States consisted of four very strong f ARKANSAS TENNESSEE !
)e M e m p h s 'i
earthquakes (having magnitudes of about 7.8-8.3)
within a 3-month period. Six aftershocks had J o so loo~ .~.-~ J'/ :
I I

magnitudes of 6-7 (Hamilton and Johnston, 3 ,~ .~.,.,. j i

1990). Epicenters of the strongest 1811-1812
earthquakes probably were distributed along a
fault zone exceeding 100 km in length (McKeown
et al., 1990). These epicenters, in combination with
continuing seismicity, define the New Madrid
seismic zone (Fig. 16).
The meizoseismal region for the 1811-1812
earthquakes was centered in a huge area of alluvial
lowlands. Prominent effects of liquefaction
extended over an area of 10 000 km; in the low-
lands and are plainly visible on the ground today
(Fig. 17 and Fig. 18). Large areas have more than
25% of the surface covered with vented sand more
than 1 m thick (Obermeier, 1989).
The alluvial lowlands is an area of very low
relief, a very high water table, and a clay-rich cap
over thick strata of fine and medium sand at
shallow depth. The sand strata generally are mod-
erately compact. The lowland is made up largely
of late Wisconsinan braid-bar terraces that formed
in floods of glacial meltwater carrying great quanti-
ties of sand. Thickness of sand beneath the terraces
generally exceeds 30 m, and, at most places, the
sands are capped with clay-rich strata interbedded
with thin sand and silt strata having a total cap
thickness of a few meters. Inset slightly lower into
' ,(.~ MISSISSIPPI i ALABAMA i
t : I I
L ~ : 't
Fig. 16. Approximate limits of the New Madrid seismic zone
and the Wabash Valley seismic zone. The New Madrid seismic
zone is the source area of the 1811-1812 earthquakes and con-
tinues to have many small earthquakes and a few slightly dam-
aging earthquakes. The Wabash Valley seismic zone is a weakly
defined zone of seismicity having infrequent small to slightly
damaging earthquakes.
the braid-bar terraces are large areas of Mississippi
River meander-belt deposits that were laid down
during Holocene time. Most of the meander belt
consists of point-bar accretion topography of arcu-
ate ridges and swales, abandoned channels, and
natural levees. Some abandoned channels are filled
with as much as 30 m of soft clay and silt. A cap
of montmorillonite-rich clay at least a few meters
thick lies on meander-belt sediments at most
places. Overall, the alluvial lowland region is quite
susceptible to the formation of earthquake-induced
liquefaction features during strong shaking.
Reports made shortly after the 1811-1812 earth-
quakes noted great multitudes of sand blows,
linear fissures as deep as 6 m and hundreds of
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology44 (1996) 1-76 25

91" 90"
readily visible on the ground surface. Great num-
bers of intruded dikes and sills can be seen in walls
of deep ( > 3-4 m) drainage ditches.
37*
Also within the meizoseismal region of the
1811-1812 earthquakes are many sedimentary fea-
tures of unknown or nonseismic origin. Mainly,
the features formed as nonseismic sand boils, mima
mounds, or deformed mud.
The discussion following is almost exclusively a
description of liquefaction-induced features in the
meizoseismal region of the 1811-1812 earthquakes,
where modified Mercalli intensity values typically
ranged between X (severe damage to man-made
36*
structures) and XII (total destruction).

4.2.1. Characterization of venting and fracturing at

the ground surface
Even though sand that was vented to the surface
by the earthquakes of 1811-1812 is still visible
today, most evidence of venting has been obliter-
ated by agricultural practices. However, even small
features were abundant at the time of a field study
by Fuller (1912). Individual sand blows induced
EXPLANA~ON by the 1811-1812 earthquakes typically are dome-
like accumulations of clean sand on the ground
Upland area== Alluvium with mora than
25 pement of ground surface
surface. Fuller (p. 79) noted that "the normal blow
[ I COVered by sand-bfow deposits is a patch of sand nearly circular in shape, from 8
Alluvium with few or i
to 15 feet across, and 3 to 6 inches high." Such
no observed sand blows "t =
Eplcentsrs for three largest small sand blows as Fuller described can rarely be
1811-1812 earthqullum
according to Nutffi (1979) found at present. The sand blows now obvious
Alluvium w;th recognizable
sand-blow deposits (>1 per- range from about 0.3 to 0.7 m in height at the
cent ground coverage), but
not major ground coveroge ~ Fault .11' Fault zone center, and they thin to a featheredge at a distance
/ I
o f 5-20 m from the center.
Sand vented to the surface by the 1811-1812
Fig. 17. Regions having abundant vented sand, excluding
modem flood plains, in the New Madrid seismic zone (from earthquakes is obvious on aerial photographs of
Obermeier et al., 1990). Sand was presumably vented in areas where the sand vented onto the dark clay-
response to 1811-1812 earthquakes. Severe liquefaction also rich cap. The vented sand dries more rapidly than
occurred locallybeyond the areas shown on the map, especially clay during seasonal drying, making a tonal con-
along streams west of Crowleys Ridge (Fuller, 1912). Also
shown are the approximate epicenters for the three strongest trast on the photograph. Fig. 18A and B illustrates
1811-1812 earthquakes and major faults and fault zones the contrast and also illustrate how venting has
(Nuttli, 1979). taken place at irregular and somewhat erratically
spaced intervals. The photographs also show that
extensive venting took place through approxi-
meters long, craters many meters in diameter, and mately linear dikes that are more or less parallel.
lateral spreads as long as hundreds of meters These patterns of erratic spacing and parallelism
(Penick, 1976). Individual and coalesced sand generally reflect small differences in site character-
blows and some long linear fissures through which istics. One o f the most obvious is cap thickness.
sand vented are the only features that are still Typically, venting in point-bar deposits has taken
26 S. E Obermeier/Engineermg Geology 44 (1996) 1 70

(? 1 MILE
~- - - - I I
0 ! KILOMETER

(a) Location

Fig. 18. Aerial photographs that show long fissures (dikesj through which sand vented (light-colored linear features) and also show
individual sand blows (light-colored spots) formed by liquefaction during the 1811 1812 New Madrid earthquakes. (A) Part of the
Manila, Arkansas, 7.5-minute orthophotographic quadrangle (US Geological Survey, 19741. Fissuring and venting took place in
braid-bar deposits of latest Pleistocene age and in younger Holocene point-bar sediments. Note how fissures formed parallel to the
scrolls of point-bar deposits. Note also the abundance of fissures in the area shown in the upper right side of the photograph. These
fissures have formed near a break in slope, where the terrace of braid-bar deposits is adjacent to the slightly lower flood-plain level
of point-bar deposits. (B) Aerial photograph taken in 1959 about 40 km north of the area shown in (A). Extensive fissuring and
venting took place in braid-bar deposits of latest Pleistocene age. Cap thickness (about 6 m) is relatively uniform. Topographic relief
is only on the order of 1 m throughout the region of extensive fissuring. Note severe fissuring over a width of at least 3 km.
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology44 (1996) 1-76 27

0 1 MILE

(b) o , KIt.OMETER

place along the highest, thinnest part of the mean-
der scroll. Where the cap is thicker, sand blows
tend to be less abundant but larger. The wider
spacing between dikes apparently causes more
concentrated flow to the surface.
Long, linear dikes, commonly with exceptionally
large quantities of vented sand, also tend to
develop parallel to topographic declivities along
streams and scarps. Dikes here have formed in
response to lateral spreading movements, which
generally take place more readily near the declivi-
ties (Fig. 18A). Wide (> 1 m) dikes having lengths
of many hundreds of meters are not unusual.
Although the widest dikes tend to be close to the
declivities, they also may develop many hundreds
of meters away. Fuller (1912, p. 49) for example
stated,
"In the sand-blow districts the spacing of [lateral
spreading] fissures varies from several hundred feet
down to less than 10 feet . . . In the case of the
large [several meters wide] fault-block [lateral
spread] fissures the spacing is greater, several
hundred feet often intervening between the cracks,
while the space between them may be half a mile
or more. Isolated cracks of this type are not
uncommon."
The direction of shaking during the earthquake
probably had a secondary influence on orientation
of the widest dikes at most places in the meizo-
28 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
seismal region of the 1811-1812 earthquakes
(Obermeier, 1989). The local geological-topo-
graphic setting is the predominant influence. Cap
thickness and proximity to stream banks and aban-
doned meanders are most important. Such impor-
tant influence of the local setting has also been
shown in a report about the 1964 Alaskan earth-
quake (M= 9.2) by McCulloch and Bonilla (1970,
Fig. 46) and was emphasized by Oldham (1899)
for the great earthquake of 1897 in India, so the
observed effects in the meizoseismal region of the
1811-1812 earthquakes seem typical. Still, local-
ized extension and compression of the ground
surface, which may relate to the direction of strong
surface shaking, may be relatively common
(Oldham, 1899, p. 99).
The aerial photographs in Fig. 18 indicate that
there is enough randomness in dike orientation
that most vertical exposures will intersect many
dikes. This is especially relevant because searches
for paleoliquefaction features are often made in
banks of ditches or rivers, which may not be
oriented optimally to intersect dikes.
4.2.2. Characterization of sand blows and dikes in
sectional view
Most sand blows of the 1811-1812 earthquake
have a well-defined set of internal relations and
stratigraphy, shown in a somewhat idealized ver-
sion in Fig. 19. The main feeder dike is beneath
the central part of the dome. The basal few centi-
meters of sediment that vented onto the original
ground generally is a fine to medium sand with a
slight to moderate amount of silt, containing scat-
tered centimeter-long, round to irregular clasts
derived from the underlying clay-rich strata cut by
the dike. The basal part of the sand-blow deposit
also contains numerous 1-3-cm-long, rounded lig-
nite fragments and other low-density materials
vented to the surface. These low-density materials
originated from the source sand.
Sediment above the basal few centimeters grades
up within a few centimeters to coarser sand with
minor silt containing numerous irregular, 1-5-cm-
long, clay-rich clasts. The clasts are encased in
clean, medium to coarse sand. The clasts are
largest and most plentiful near the feeder dike.
Clasts derived from the cap occur almost exclu-
sively in the lowermost quarter of vented material.
Above this in the larger sand blows, away from
the vent, is a much thicker zone (tens of centime-
ters) of very clean, generally medium to coarse
sand that is nearly structureless except for sugges-
tions of laminations of sediment; grain size of this
sand corresponds very closely to that of the fluid-
ized source beds at depth. Higher yet in the sand
blow, the sand grades upward to a mainly medium
sand. Here there are weakly to moderately devel-
oped planar to wavy laminations of silt and sand
generally a few millimeters in thickness, which
gently dip down and away from the central part
of the sand volcano (Fig. 19A).
Where sediment vented into swales on the
ground surface, this sand-blow sequence may be
capped by a silt-rich stratum containing organic
debris and ranging from 0.5 cm to several centime-
ters in thickness; this cap may also contain multiple
very thin (1 mm thick) clay-rich layers (Saucier,
1989). The organic matter in the cap consists of
small pieces of charcoal and wood. The organic
debris and thin clay-rich layers were deposited in
swales located both above the vent (Fig. 19A) and
in depressions far from the mound of vented
sediment.
Closest to where dikes vented onto the ground
surface, there can be well-defined strata that dip
steeply into the dike (Fig. 19A). These strata typi-
cally contain the coarsest sediment vented. Next
to these strata, in the lower and central part of
the sand blow, there may be evidence of shearing
and disruption caused by the forceful expulsion
and boiling of sediment and water.
The overall fining-upward sequence of vented
sediment, from the basal clast-bearing sand to the
uppermost organic-matter-bearing stratum, repre-
sents the transition from the turbulent violent
eruption very shortly after initial venting to the
final ebbing flow to the ground surface. The planar
and wavy laminations probably represent weak
variations in flow from the dike.
Dikes that formed in the clay-rich cap of the
1811-1812 earthquakes' meizoseismal region typi-
cally are sand-filled fissures that are steeply dipping
(60-90 ) and are mainly planar. In vertical section,
dikes having widths exceeding several centimeters
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 29

lOto40m
Stratum of silt
with organic debris \ Fining-up sequence
sand with minor silt
~ - Laminations
0.3 to ~ " ' " " ' "" ~" - " " " ~ . . . ,' - . . . ~

8 .~" . . '

Basal zone of sand containing

o
many clasts of sidewall material
and wood and coal fragments Ground
/ cracking
~ ~ ~ : ( / ~ ~'\ Bifurcatingdikes
"6 Tabular sand-filled fissure - ' ~.,.: caused by weathering in weathered zone
~_~ (dike), commonly 0.15 to 0.3 m : .
,E ~ wide; may contain clasts of !'-'
=~ ~ sidewall material "'i
pinch together upward
2~ 'I.
:'.'.
A
ii. B c
_J ....

::'heddinghes ::i
: " ....." . '......,: .. '. /...: : ....:.. -..':.-.......:: ::: v.'.:........:: ...:... '. -...:..:.' . . . c...: ~*...:.'~. ~ ,~.::;
..~.:...~ ... .... . .. :. ~........,~ . . . ~.......,~. :..~.......~ . .:.....:

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:.:::::::.:: ::::::::::::::::::::::
.:.:::G"-:::.::::::: .'~::):::?~:
? :::. ::::: ;;,;}:~:':':~:?
~: ::: :.~':;'~:~';:::;:
?.:::.
:;.ZS:'::::>i
:.~.::~'.-::::';~
"::::
:'.:.~. o ,-~:'i

Fig. 19. Schematic vertical section showing dikes cutting through overbank silt and clay strata and showing the overlying sand-blow
deposits. (A) Stratigraphic details of sediment vented to the surface. (B) Dikes that pinch together as they ascend. (C) Characteristics
of dikes in fractured zone of weathering, in highly plastic clays. Situations shown are found in many places in the meizoseismal zone
of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.

commonly are spaced from several meters to hun- common. Dikes in this width range normally
dreds of meters apart. become more narrow upward as illustrated in
Dike widths range from millimeters to several Fig. 19A. The tapering may represent downwarp-
meters. Many of the widest "dikes" are sand-filled ing of the ground surface in response to sand at
fissures that were almost certainly caused by lateral depth having been vented to the surface. At almost
spreading. Fig. 20 shows a feature probably having all places, even isolated sand blows have vented
such an origin; the lignitic silty clay stratum in the through small, vertically planar dikes. The smallest
sand indicates the location of the top of the sand dikes pinch together as illustrated in Fig. 19B.
($1) that flowed into the opening of the lateral Within the uppermost meter or so, dikes cutting
spread. The upper sand ($2) probably was vented through the weathered portion of the clay-rich cap
later during a following earthquake. (In contrast, may branch irregularly upward into many smaller
often only little or no sand vents to the ground segments (Fig. 19C). Possibly preexisting weather-
surface from the large space between blocks ing planes of weakness cause a single large dike to
opened by lateral spreading.) Sidewalls of many branch into many small members. The clay cap
of the larger sand dikes throughout the 1811-1812 typically contains a large proportion of montmoril-
earthquakes' meizoseismal zone tend to be parallel lonite. During dry years, desiccation cracks extend
to one another in vertical section, which also a meter or more in depth. Pedogenesis has also
indicates a pulling-apart origin during lateral developed a strong soil structure (pedons) in a
spreading. thick B horizon near the surface.
Dikes about 15 cm or less in width are very Where larger dikes branch extensively
30 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

..... :. :.: ::!: :. i:ii! i!. " :: : ' .....

:i:.." .!:i.7,7."...:
i,;21;";

0 1 2 METERS
I I I
NO VERTICALEXAGGERATION

Fig. 20. Sketch of vertical exposure in a ditch in the meizoseismal zone of the 1811 1812 New Madrid earthquakes showing evidence
for about 1.5 m of lateral spreading. The $1 sand was emplaced during lateral spreading. The lignitic silty clay layer next was laid
down on Sx sand. In a second earthquake, S 2 sand was vented to the surface, burying the lignitic silty clay and $1 sand. Note that
the sidewalls are approximately parallel. From Wesnousky and Leffler (1992).

(Fig. 19C), there may be only minor evidence of
venting onto the ground surface. Apparently this
network is effective in dissipating the energy of
flow. Locally though, venting has excavated the
highly fractured zone, leaving behind a widened
dike at the top. This excavated zone may contain
many clay clasts mixed irregularly in a matrix
of sand.
Dikes that cut through the fine-grained cap
generally are filled with a loose mixture of fine
and medium sand and a minor amount of silt.
Clasts of clay, some as long as 20 cm, may also
occur but generally are not abundant. Elongate
clasts tend to be parallel to sidewalls. The clasts
were derived from the sidewalls and transported
up the dike. The mixture of sand, silt, and clasts
has a sharply defined contact with the sidewalls.
Weak laminations within the sand and silt may
parallel the sidewalls. Crosscutting, vertically ori-
ented zones of sand and silt within the dike are
also commonplace. These probably represent epi-
sodes of venting during separate pulses or venting
from different source zones at depth.
The finest constituents (fine sand and silt) have
been winnowed from dike fillings at some sites of
venting. Winnowed zones within the dike are com-
monly tubular and as much as several centimeters
in width. Locally, winnowing extends several
meters down into the dike. This winnowing proba-
bly took place by water flowing up through the
dike during final phases of expulsion of water,
following initial emplacement of the sand in the
dike.
Many dikes that pinch together upward have a
large proportion of silt and clay mixed with the
sand near the top. Often it is unclear whether the
silt and clay have invaded the dike by pedogenesis
or whether the silt and clay were constituents of
the originally intruded sediment. Dikes that taper
upward are generally of limited usefulness for
paleoliquefaction studies, owing to difficulties in
determining when the dikes formed.
Many variations of the relations shown in
Fig. 19 exist. One of the most common is a large
amount of downwarping of the cap toward the
dike. This downwarping tends to be most pro-
nounced where a large amount of sand has been
vented to the surface. It is not unusual that the
cap be downdropped by more than 0.5 m on one
or both sides of the dike, and that the cap be
otherwise faulted or severely deformed near the
dike (Wesnousky and Leffler, 1992, Figs. 9, 12,
and 14).
Also relatively common in the meizoseismal
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
region of the 1811-1812 earthquakes are dikes
having a morphology that differs substantially
from the type shown in Fig. 19, where a feeder
dike at the base of the cap is a single, planar break
through the cap. The substantially different dikes
are often irregular, tabular, sand-filled breaks that
are discontinuous and short (< 1-2 m) in length,
irregular in width, and anastomose in all orienta-
tions. Such dikes appear to have formed only
where the cap was so weak as to have deformed
very plastically. Original bedding in the host sedi-
ments within the cap can be strongly warped. Not
unusual are dikes having walls that have squeezed
together except for a width of only a few sand
grains. Even though plastic deformation has
allowed considerable warping of silt and clay beds
in the host, most dikes that terminate within the
host do so by pinching together as illustrated in
Fig. 19B. Because the dikes narrow upward and
terminate at a point, hydraulic fracturing still
appears to have been the dominant mechanism
whereby the dikes formed, rather than intrusion
of liquefied sediment causing plastic deformation
of the host. The anastomosing, discontinuous dikes
often have developed only near the base of the
cap, where sediments are softest. Such dikes may
be relatively common in earthquakes where seismic
shaking has been very strong and the cap was firm
yet quite plastic. For example, Walsh et al. (1995)
noted that this is the dominant morphology that
they observed in the meizoseismal region (modified
Mercalli intensity values of IX-X) of the M 9.2
Alaska earthquake of 1964; many excellent photo-
graphs and line drawings are shown in their report.
Some scattered small tubular dikes can also be
found in clay caps of the 1811-1812 earthquakes'
meizoseismal region. Holes that originated from
decay of tree roots or from excavation by crayfish
are ubiquitous and doubtless were used as the
conduits for small tubular dikes. These tubular
holes through the cap had a very minor role as
conduits for venting, though, as compared with
the role of steeply dipping planar dikes. However,
these holes possibly were preferred paths during
the early phase of venting and thereby controlled
where hydraulic fracturing developed planar dikes.
Small holes whose walls are defined by angular
breaks, and which have a tortuous upward path,
31
also are commonly observed conduits for sand
venting during the 1811-1812 earthquakes.
Another field example, in Venezuela, of where
venting was localized in tubular (crab) burrows
was reported by Audemard and de Santis (1991);
this venting occurred in response to limited lique-
faction during moderate earthquakes.
The preceding discussion has focused on charac-
teristics of dikes that cut through a clay-rich cap
that ranges in consistency from very soft to brittle.
Excellent descriptions and detailed drawings of
tabular dikes that cut interbedded clay and sand
strata during the 1989 Loma Prieta, California,
earthquake (M= 7) were given by Sims and Garvin
(1995). The dikes and sand blows that they
described generally are much smaller and represent
less forceful venting than those of the 1811-1812
earthquakes, yet the sediment relations in the dikes
and sand blows in both regions are quite similar.
Locally, the cap in the 1811-1812 earthquakes'
meizoseismal region is a very weakly cemented
sand containing only a minor amount of silt and
clay, with slight bonding imparted from oxides of
iron and manganese. The liquefaction features in
the areas of weakly cemented sand caps appear to
have been mainly large open craters, similar to
those of the 1886 Charleston, SC, earthquake. In
contrast to filled craters in South Carolina, craters
from the 1811-1812 earthquakes generally lack
very large dasts in their lowermost deposits (see
sketches in Tuttle, 1994). Apparently the h o s t
sands are too friable to form large clasts.
4.2.3. Characterization of sills in sectional view
Combinations of dikes and sills are also common
within the nonliquefiable cap. Where sills are abun-
dant, dikes generally are also plentiful. Sills form
preferentially at three locales: (1) along the base
of the cap, (2) along bedding planes and other
horizontal planes of weakness in the cap, and (3)
beneath exceptionally dense, strong root mats.
These three locales are illustrated in Fig. 21. All
examples (unless otherwise noted) of dikes and
sills in the New Madrid area discussed in this
section resulted from liquefaction caused by
seismic activity.
Laterally extensive sills as thick as 0.5 m are
commonplace along the base of the cap. An intrud-
 32 S.F Obermeier/'Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

, . , .. .

~ ' i ' - ' . Loose silty.

l'e~'" ,, : - i " . , . - . : - sand with,
{ ' / " :]:" .'" i: '.;::.traceclay
v ~ ~ . -- ~

' "" " " , " " " ." " , " " -i ." ', "
."Siltysand /~Cap
Bowl-shaped intrusion L Laminations in sill Soft clay

-. Sand with
~ ' : : i siltstratum
~Sill Soft, friable
silt stratum
clayey silt

Fig. 21. Schematic vertical section showing where sills form preferentially at the base of a thick nonliquefiable cap overlying source
sand, along bedding planes within the cap, and beneath a dense root mat. Thin sills can extend great distances horizontally, especially
where the overlying cap is thin. Such severe sill development as illustrated in the figure is typically accompanied by large sand blows,
as in the meizoseismal zone of the 1811-t812 New Madrid earthquakes. Bowl-shaped intrusions often are associated with sills; a
bowl commonly contains a fining-upward sequence of clasts.

ing sill can dome up an overlying flexible, clay- angular, suggests a brittle or shattering mode of
rich cap having a thickness of as much as a few fracturing of the stratum from which the clasts
meters. Sills are also common within the cap where were derived. Despite this pattern of fracturing,
original horizontal sedimentary structures and the clay-rich clasts and their source beds commonly
planes of weakness have not been destroyed by have such a soft consistency as to permit very easy
weathering. Sills especially tend to form irregularly penetration of several centimeters by thumb
within thin beds of silt or sand sandwiched between pressure.
clay-rich beds. Small branches from the main sill Fig. 21 also shows intrusions that are bowl
commonly intrude into an overlying more clayey shaped in three dimensions. The bowl-shaped
stratum, forming more sills and dikes. intrusion typically has developed within a thin
Clay-rich clasts can abound within a sill. The ( 5-20 cm) stratum of sand. Connected to the base
clasts have been transported many meters horizon- of the bowl-shaped feature is a thin (a few millime-
tally at many places, but clasps that have simply ters to centimeters) tabular dike that has served as
been detached and foundered vertically several the conduit for the fluidized mixture of sand and
centimeters are also very common (see Fig. 21). water to travel upward. Within the bowl portion,
The shape of clay-rich clasts in the sills, generally there is generally a fining-upwards sequence of
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 33

angular clasts derived from the directly underlying

fine-grained stratum. It is not unusual, though,
that some of the largest clasts be at the top of the
bowl-shaped feature, just beneath the overlying
fine-grained stratum. Bowl-shaped features are
commonplace, especially where a fine-grained stra-
tum as thin as a few centimeters to 10 cm is
underlain by a thick, liquefied sand stratum.
Sills at a depth of about a meter or less in a
clay-rich cap can be quite wavy in vertical section.
These sills can thin and thicken dramatically within
a horizontal distance of a meter or less and produce
blister-like bulges on the surface. In plan view,
these bulges can range from circular to very elon- 50 INCHES
J
gate. Sills can be as thick as 0.7 m near the surface. I
100CENTIMETERS
Such large thicknesses appear to be less c o m m o n
at greater depths, except locally along the base of
a thick cap. Sills very close to the ground surface
generally seem to have formed beneath root mats
of grass and trees.
Fig. 22A shows a commonly observed field
example in which near-vertical dikes are connected
to a laterally extensive sill. The sill has formed
within a clay cap that has only incipient horizons
of weakness. The sill is at least 25 m long but is
only 10 cm thick. The sill more or less follows a
single horizon in sectional view. The type of
internal layering seen in this sill is commonplace.
Individual laminae are composed of small pieces
of lignite or fine sand and silt (Fig. 22B,C). Also
c o m m o n at this site and elsewhere are structureless
sills containing m a n y clay clasts in a sand matrix,
as well as sand with graded bedding of clay clasts
concentrated along the base.
Laterally extensive sills also tend to form in the
upslope direction along the base of a cap, where
the base dips appreciably. Such sills especi?.lly

Fig. 22. Sand dikes and sills exposed in a nonliquefiable cap of

silt and clay; the dikes and sills are interpreted as having origi-
nated by liquefaction during the 1811-1812 New Madrid earth-
quakes. Outcrop is the bank of a ditch in the meizoseismalarea
of the 1811-1812 earthquakes. (A) Typical small dikes and
small sills. The most continuous sill extends far beyond the area
2 INCHES
shown in the photograph and is at least 25 m long. Rectangle I
shows area of (B). (B) View showing details of layering in a I
sill. (C) Veryclose view showing details of layering in a sill. Sill 5 CENTIMETERS
is made up of fine and medium sand with some silt- and sand-
sized lignite. Black bands consist of small pieces of lignite.
34 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

occur along the base of a clay-filled abandoned
channel; here a sill typically extends upslope to
where the cap is thinner, and the sill feeds into a
steeply dipping dike that has vented onto the
surface (M.P. Tuttle, Univ. of Maryland, written
commun., 1993).
The exposure illustrated in Fig. 23 shows
another common type of field example in which
sand dikes and sills cut the upper liquefied sands
and the lower portion of the nonliquefiable cap.
In the upper part of the liquefied sand (bed A,
Fig. 23A), small dikes branch out from a large

GROUND SURFACE BED

Clay, blocky; altered by

soil processes

~i : i ~.~ : i ~I i
' : : ": ' . : : . -. ' : : . i." ' . ' . " 1H Sand, fine-tomedium-
... . . : - : . . . . . - . .. ' ... ' ... - . ' : . . . . . grained, clean,
'.".".". :"i : i: ( 4 ""~. '- ~ , / ~.". / ~' 'C l a y c l a s t s - :"i :.i: '. structureless
: ,:, : , ....
-- I -~--Mediurn s a n d - t ~ / ~ . - - I -- Clay, blocky,
_ t _ ~ ~ -__~__~c~ - I~ ~ __ G micro-fractured

~ F Silty sand, fine-grained

bedded
E Silty sand, fine-grained
J
-~ - ~ ~ _ ~ 7~- CIay, highly plastic,
D grading up to
silty sand

Sandy clay, coarsening

upward to sand,
weakly laminated
Sandy silt,
i laminated at base

Sand, medium-grained,
clean, crossbedded,
contains wood
(dated at 12,000 yrs
before present)

0 3 FEET
I r
0 1 METER

NO VERTICAL EXAGGERATION

Fig. 23. Schematic vertical section and photographs showing Holocene sediments (nonliquefiable cap) and underlying Wisconsinan
braid-bar source sand that liquefied. Exposure is in a ditch in the meizoseismal region of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.
Earthquake-induced intrusions cut section at many places. (A) Schematic diagram of stratigraphic relations and liquefaction-induced
features (numbered 1-6). Feature 1: dikes of medium sand that cut cap and source sand. Features 2 and 3: intruded dikes and sills
of structureless, clean, medium sand. Feature 4: dike and flame structures of medium sand containing large clasts from bed G. Feature
5: dikes of medium sand, truncated unconformably. Feature 6: pseudonodules collapsed in bed D. (B) Photograph of beds A-D,
showing sand intrusion (feature 3). Knife shown in the four photographs is 12 cm long. (C) Photograph of dikes (feature 1) cutting
source (bed A) and bed B. (D) Photograph of plan view of bed B, showing intrusion structures caused by feature 1; the plan view
is in the area of the knife that is oriented vertically in (B). (E) Photograph of part of feature 4, showing clay clasts in sand matrix
intruded into bed H.
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
dike (feature 1), cut through the basal bed of the
cap (bed B) at horizontal intervals of 0.5-1 m,
and extend upward about 0.5-1 m. A few dikes
and sills intrude to much higher levels (features 2,
3, and 4). At exposures nearby (not shown), dikes
extend to the surface. Sand has vented to the
surface to produce many large sand blows in the
field adjoining the outcrop of Fig. 23.
The dikes and sills shown in Fig. 23A as features
1 through 4 contain clean medium sand. The edges
of the intrusions are sharp in clay-rich beds such
as beds C, D, and G. Locally, intrusions puncture
35
clay
clasts
I
the very soft clay with sharp angular turns and
breaks that follow a haphazard path (features 2
through 3). Edges of intrusions are generally less
distinct in beds of clean, permeable sand. Dikes
commonly widen and terminate upward as flame-
shaped structures (feature 4) in a permeable sand
bed (bed H). Clay clasts may be present in lower
portions of the structures.
The sill at the base of bed B, at the extreme
right side of the figure, has an irregular contact
along the top. Here the sill has corraded the base
of the friable bed B. Small intact pieces of bed B
36 S. I~ Obermeier/ Engineermg Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
have sunk into the sill, probably attesting to a
very water-rich condition in the sill at the time of
its intrusion. Such destruction of friable beds by
sills is commonplace throughout the meizoseismal
region, especially along the base of the cap. In
regions of only marginal development of small
dikes, thin (< 10 cm) sills along the base of the cap
and within the cap are still relatively common.
Features labeled 1 through 4 in Fig. 23 are
interpreted to be earthquake induced because: (1)
they are widely distributed over tens of kilometers;
(2) many of these dikes and sills are as wide as
15 crn, and this width suggests intrusion by large
volumes of water-saturated sediment; (3) they
consist of clean medium sand containing large,
angular clay clasts (which are evidence of forceful
intrusion); and (4) artesian conditions are unlikely
at these sites.
The dike shown as feature 5 has an uncertain
origin (Fig. 23A). Three small dikes that were
truncated at the contact between beds C and D
were exposed in a 25-m section along the ditch
but were not found in other nearby exposures of
beds C and D. The dikes may represent
pre- 1811-1812 seismic liquefaction. However, they
contain a large proportion of silty fine sand, which
does not suggest forceful intrusion at this site.
Possibly they resulted from springs that formed
near the base of a stream bank, or they may be
slump-related features that formed soon after ini-
tial deposition of the host sediments.
Pseudonodules (feature 6) are discussed in a
following section, "Load Structures in Muds."
Flame-shaped structures such as those of feature
4 have developed at many places within thick sand
beds in the meizoseismal region of the 1811 - 1812
earthquakes. Flame-shaped structures commonly
have widths ranging from millimeters to about a
third of a meter. Apparently the upper sand beds
do not liquefy, and, because of their relatively high
permeability, perhaps in combination with an
unsaturated condition, they permit the energy of
the pressurized water from beneath to dissipate
within the large volume.
A rather uncommon deformation feature (not
shown) probably related to seismic liquefaction
involves plastic deformation of silt and clay along
the base of the cap. The lowermost 10-20 cm of
the cap contains a convoluted mixture of severely
disturbed, plastically deformed silt and clay,
intruded by sand. Such convolutions probably take
place only where extremely soft silt and clay lie
directly on liquefied sand.
The preceding discussion has focused on sill
development in the meizoseismal zone of the
1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Beyond the
meizoseismal zone, sills within the cap are much
sparser than those along the base of the cap. Sills
within the cap are also sparse in comparison to
the number of dikes beyond the meizoseismal zone.
Still, along the base of the cap, sills having thick-
nesses of 3-10 cm occur even where dikes have
widths of only several centimeters. I have observed
in other tectonic regions that such sill development
can be commonplace along the base of the cap,
even where dikes are small and widely spaced.
Sill development in the meizoseismal zone of the
1811 - 1812 New Madrid earthquakes is extraordi-
nary in comparison to what I have seen in tectonic
regions elsewhere. Such extensive sill development,
especially within the cap, may require somewhat
special conditions. I suspect (1) that earthquake
shaking must be very strong, (2) that the water
table must extend far up into the cap, and (3) that
the cap must have abundant horizontal zones of
weakness.
The possible seismic liquefaction origin of sill-
like lenses can be difficult to deduce in many field
situations. The problem of origin is especially
difficult for some very thin ( 1-2 cm) sill-like lenses
of sand found in the transition zone where a
deposit of thick, clean sand fines upward to a
deposit containing more silt and clay. Within the
transition zone are thin sand deposits intercalated
with thin lenses of muddy sediment, in many field
settings. Sequences of this nature may be repeated
vertically and laterally many times. It is not unu-
sual in this scenario to also observe a thin, sill-like
sand intrusion going laterally and up into overlying
muddy sediment. Such an intrusion can originate
simply by compaction of very soft sediment caus-
ing buildup of pore-water pressure, or alternatively
can originate by seismic liquefaction. Only where
liquefaction-induced sills have a thickness exceed-
ing a few centimeters are there likely to be found
characteristics that indicate a seismic origin. Here
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
there can also be steeply dipping dikes cutting
through a fine-grained stratum along the base of
the sill. Dikes of seismic origin commonly have
fractured irregularly across the finer grained stra-
tum and have formed clasts with sharp, angular
shapes. Rounded clasts are sparse to nonexistent.
The bowl-shaped features shown in Fig. 21 have
also developed. These relations occur plentifully
in the New Madrid seismic zone as well as most
other seismically active regions that I have
examined.
4.2.4. Paleoliquefaction studies
Systematic paleoliquefaction studies were under-
taken only recently throughout the meizoseismal
region of the 1811-1812 earthquakes. This region
has large terraces of late Wisconsinan and early
Holocene age where the water table appears to
have been very shallow since the terraces were
formed (Wesnousky and Leffler, 1992). Thus, if
very strong earthquakes occurred since early
Holocene time, liquefaction features should be
present in the geological record. Definitive evi-
dence for liquefaction predating 1811-1812 has
been found in the northern part of the New Madrid
seismic zone (see Figs. 16 and 17) near Reelfoot
Lake (Russ, 1979) and at a site about 30km
northeast of Reelfoot Lake (Saucier, 1991b). Russ
found that three earthquakes have induced lique-
faction during the past 2000 years; on that basis,
he suggested a recurrence interval of 600 years for
liquefaction-producing events. Saucier (1991b)
estimated an average recurrence interval of 470
years for liquefaction-producing events in the past
1300 years. Further south, in the southern half of
the seismic zone, field work has discovered evi-
dence of three prehistoric liquefaction-producing
events in the past 2000 years (Tuttle and Schweig,
1995). Whether these more southern episodes are
coeval with one another or with those further
north has not yet been proven. Therefore, the
upper limits for the magnitudes of these prehistoric
earthquakes cannot yet be determined. Only the
lower limits can be estimated, and these are the
threshold values. The threshold magnitude is about
5.5 on the basis of historical observations of lique-
faction-producing events in the New Madrid
seismic zone.
37
4.3. Wabash Valley seismic zone
Many small to slightly damaging earthquakes
have occurred throughout the region of the
Wabash River valley of Indiana and Illinois in the
past 200 years. Seismologists have long suspected
that the weakly defined Wabash Valley seismic
zone (Fig. 16) could be capable of producing
earthquakes stronger than the largest of record
(M~5.5; Hamilton and Johnston, 1990). A search
for paleoliquefaction features has resulted in dis-
covery of evidence for very large, prehistoric,
Holocene earthquakes.
The main search was in the Wabash River valley
along the central axis of the Wabash Valley seismic
zone. Alluvium generally as thick as 10-30 m lies
on bedrock. The valley contains expanses of low
glaciofluvial terraces of late Pleistocene age. These
terraces are mainly braid-bar deposits of gravel
and gravelly sand. Inset into the Pleistocene ter-
races are slightly lower Holocene flood plains of
finer point-bar sediment. The sand and gravel
deposits of both braid bars and point bars typically
are overlain by a 2-5-m-thick alluvial cap of sandy
silt to clayey silt. Bordering the valley are extensive
plains of silt and clay that contain patches of clean
sand; the plains were laid down in slack-water
areas during glaciofluvial alluviation. The water
table is presently shallow (< 3 m) and appears to
have been shallow over large areas much of the
time following glaciofluvial alluviation, on the
basis of depth of carbonate leaching and B-horizon
soil development in sandy and silty alluvium. This
combination of a relatively shallow water table
and widespread sand-rich deposits with an overly-
ing fine-grained cap has provided an excellent
opportunity for liquefaction features to form
throughout much of the Holocene.
4.3.1. Characterization of features
Hundreds of dikes have been found. Sills within
the cap are sparse, even where thick sills occur
along the base of the cap. Dikes and sills occur
both in Holocene point-bar deposits and in the
late Pleistocene glacial outwash and slack-water
deposits. Fig. 24 shows the area searched, sites
where dikes were discovered, and sites of excep-
tionally wide dikes. Nearly all sites shown on the
 ILLI~INNOIDISANA~
38 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

Limit of liquefaction
/ 6,100200 yr B.P.
,~ earthquake

Indianapolis

/
/

Limit of
/ /12,000:
.k.//// eartt

~ J ~ 0

EXPLANATION
50 100 KILOMETERS

- - Surveyed stream
[] City
Paleoliquefaction site
ylr 12,0002,000 yr B.P.
6,100200 yr B.P., dikes < 0.7m wide
C) 6,100200 yr B.P., dikes > 0.7m wide
A 3,0001,000 yr B.P.
Other events in Indiana
Undated events in Illinois
X Possibly caused by 1811-12
New Madrid earthquakes

Fig. 24. Area in Indiana and Illinois searched for liquefaction features, sites where paleoliquefaction features (mainly dikes) were
discovered, and regional limits of liquefaction for different earthquakes. A b o u t 10% of the length of the rivers searched has freshly
eroded exposures. Only exceptionally are there no fresh exposures of mid-Holocene or older sediments within a 20-km length of
river; no suitable exposures are in the region of shallow bedrock shown on the map. Liquefaction sites plotted on the m a p generally
have numerous dikes. Undated events in Illinois are almost all more than a few hundred years in age, yet Holocene. Some sites in
the southern part of the study area have unweathered dikes near the surface, probably induced by the 1811 1812 New Madrid
earthquakes. Dike width was measured at least 1 m above the base of the dike; sites with dikes having a width >0.7 m are shown
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 39

figure have more than 1 dike, and many sites have from the dikes onto the ground surface rather than
more than 10. Almost all the liquefaction sites intruded as sills is based on several lines of evi-
found are in actively eroding banks of rivers, which dence. Sills would cut irregularly across sedi-
were about the only areas searched. mentary horizons at some places (see Figs. 21 and
The dikes are steeply dipping, are tabular, and 22), rather than always being confined to a single
connect to a sediment source at depth. Many horizontal layer as in the Wabash Valley. Sills also
smaller dikes pinch together as they go up. Where would tend to follow the contact between sand
dikes cut through a thick clay cap without pro- and clay strata rather than lie on a paleosol, and
nounced horizontal planes of weakness, it is not sills probably would have some dikes branching
unusual for the dike width to be less than a up.
centimeter throughout a height of as much as 4-5
m. Widths as much as 15 cm or more throughout
4.3.2. Ages of dikes
the height of the dike are very common and
Radiocarbon dating and archeological evidence
widespread in the region. Locally, though, in what
at widespread sites show that most of the liquefac-
is interpreted as meizoseismal regions of the prehis-
tion features in Fig. 24 resulted from a single
toric earthquakes, dikes have widths ranging from
earthquake 6100___200 years ago (Munson et al.,
0.7 to 2.5 m.
1992,Munson et al., 1994). Very large dikes with
Dikes filled with sand containing some gravel
extensive sand blows from this earthquake are
and silt are very common. Vented sediment was
centered about Vincennes, implying a nearby epi-
mainly sand that commonly contained large quan-
center. The evidence for two pulses of venting
tifies of gravel (Fig. 25). Within many dikes is a
admits the possibility of more than one strong
fining-upward sequence of coarsest material. Also
earthquake spaced very closely in time. Such close
within many dikes are sharply defined, vertically
spacing of strong earthquakes happened in the
intertwined and intersecting zones containing dis-
nearby 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.
tinctly different grain sizes, which in places can be
The next strongest earthquake in the Wabash
traced to different source strata at depth.
Valley took place about 12 000 years ago. Again,
Sediment vented to the surface extends as much
the largest dikes appear approximately central to
as 40 m in width. Thicknesses of vented sediment
the regional distribution. A yet smaller event
of 0.15-0.2 m are not unusual. Most vented sedi-
occurred about 3000 years ago, and a few other
ment fines upward and laterally, especially if gravel
scattered small events are represented. Other earth-
was vented. The vented sediment at sites bordering
quakes are represented by a few widespread dikes
the Wabash River generally lies on a paleosol and
of late Pleistocene age, but the paucity of such old
is buried beneath a 1-3-m thickness of overbank
exposures precludes determining a regional pattern
deposits, as illustrated in Fig. 25. On slightly ele-
of sizes.
vated terraces, where flooding has been rare, the
Bracketing the time when the dikes west of the
vented sediment has been incorporated into the
Wabash River formed has not yet been done.
surface soil.
However, the severity of weathering of vented
At some sites, there is good evidence for more
material and in dikes shows that almost all the
than one pulse of venting. This evidence is best
dikes have ages of thousands of years.
shown at sites near Vincennes (Fig. 24), where
both sand blows and their dikes are largest for the
event of 6100 year B.P. The vented sediment 4.3.3. Evidence for seismic origin
consists of two fining-upward sequences. The lower All aspects of the Wabash Valley dikes can also
pulse of vented sand fines upward to a thin silt be observed in the 1811-1812 New Madrid earth-
layer; the upper pulse has abundant sand and quakes' meizoseismal region, which has a physical
gravel that also fines upward. There is no evidence setting generally similar to that of the Wabash
of a significant hiatus between pulses. Valley. An earthquake-induced liquefaction origin
The interpretation that sediments were vented is interpreted for the dikes of the Wabash Valley
40 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

Ap

Gray silty clay

C/B

. ,
~ ~ ~ ~ --o-7...
Ped..~-mix zone . . " - ~ . . - - : ' - . - - . ~ . . . , :~-'--,.-----;

F-"-= .... .o o'" ." . . . . . '~ . .... ~. ~'.-~*"-:" '-~~'-I

1.i ."/ o -.:.o?~ o.~o. ~: ~ ..:.. ~. .". . ".~"~o~" : "~"- ;.~ "? " :/ Sand and
L'~'~O0"c~" LJ'.~'o'~. "" -" "- ~ - " " ~ - - o O@'U'~.'O'.L)O0." / gravel
~ - ' ~ "' : : "". . . . " : . o. ".' " . . ' . . 0 ~ , ~ , . ."-,-:-=~. ~ ' . I
LI ' I' l-~ '~ : /~J I --r--~ 2SIAb
L-____ J ~I j ---".'"' ~o.': ".'.( Blocky soil s t r u c t u r e ~ - ~

Yellowish-brown i ~ ': ""

.'." " 0 - ' ' '

silty clay loam I" ~'' ' " " "i

.. "o'" . ' : ' 2Bb
;. "'.~. ' ~ - ' ~ Clasts of (iron oxide
" 8" ?L.'.:~. sidewall material and clay
-I- ~ ~Qo'.o.'.'~ if;.~ enrichment

:0 ": Q..

i:,~ ." ~:~."X

t.4.;,--:~.o- \

Yellowish-brownsiltyloam/<f":%'.'. ~ . ::~~)"~..'..~.

I/ "" C:~." " . : . . : : . . " . . .' "." "{~:.. : : . . " . sand "".~. :~P'~:".~o P'~." *"o" ' :
Lo.:. ''. :.~.":. ~.O:-".":.~._". :~''.".1
I. ". "~'~. "..~'~. "." :" : .'.":" .':. "." :.-.'."'. "."~ ":~.~.<." :. ":" : ~ Sand
~.. ' . .. - . . . . . . ~/.,.: . . . .. . .. . ...o. ...~. ~ . ...~
. . . /. ~. :.. :.1
. ~ ~ - - - ..... and
L .~. :..' . - j . ~ . ....~.~...-.. ... : . . : . . . . " . . L - ; . . ~ gravel
I .- "" ,~. - ,. "' . ." " ~ . ~ ' " O ' .' . .c-~ ..I
o o " o - . " ' * ' ~ ~ " '
~. :: e~" . ' -- ,' .", . ~ - : '. -C") .~. . '. ."c~~ . . . . . : . . , . . t:'D.." ~. .. . .' . ". ...o. . . o '. ...:. .- . ' ~ .0' ~ . ' .. -1, .

t 1 meter t

Fig. 25. Schematic vertical section showing general characteristics of buried sand- and gravel-filled dikes and their vented sediments
along the Wabash River. Source beds are Holocene point-bar deposits or late Wisconsinan braid-bar deposits overlain by m u c h finer
overbank sediment. Sediment in source beds beneath dikes shows evidence of flow into dikes. Gravel content and size decrease
upward in dikes at m a n y places. Grey silty clay of overbank origin overlies sand and gravel that was vented onto the ground surface.
The column on the right side of the figure contains pedological descriptions of host materials.
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
for the following reasons, considered in com-
bination:
(1) the dikes widen downward or have walls that
are parallel (agreeing with a lateral spreading
origin);
(2) the dikes are approximately linear in plan view
and exhibit strong parallel alignment in local
areas;
(3) the dikes vented large quantities of sandy
sediment to the surface;
(4) material in the dikes fines upward and was
transported upward;
(5) bedding in some source beds is homogeneous,
and the contact of source beds with overlying
fine-grained sediment is highly disturbed in
some places;
(6) flow structures project upward from the source
zones into the bottoms of the dikes;
(7) many dikes are in flat and topographically
elevated landforms, located at least several
kilometers from any high, steep slopes that
might have existed at the time of formation
of the dikes, and therefore could not have
been induced by nonseismic landsliding;
(8) other nonseismic mechanisms such as artesian
springs that could produce similar features are
not plausible at many dike sites because of the
lack of topographic relief and the local geolo-
gical setting;
(9) the size and abundance of the dikes along the
Wabash River, the area where data are most
complete, generally decrease with increasing
distance from a core region of largest dikes
(Fig. 24);
(10) large regions that have liquefiable sediment
in the same geological setting have been
searched far north of the Wabash Valley
seismic zone and have no dikes (Munson
et al., 1994).
Detailed discussion of these factors is in
Obermeier et al. (1993).
Sills within the cap such as those illustrated in
Fig. 22 are sparse in the Wabash Valley region. I
have observed elsewhere a similar lack of sill
development in the cap. For example, in the banks
of the Chehalis River, near Centralia, Washington,
there are many dikes exposed that doubtless were
41
induced by the 1949 earthquake of Olympia,
Washington ( M = 7.1) (Obermeier, 1995). The field
setting is a thick (6-8 m) cap of stiff clay without
pronounced horizontal planes of weakness that
overlies medium sand. The dikes along the
Chehalis River have a tabular morphology that
strongly resembles that of many dikes in the
Wabash Valley, because very thin (1 cm) dikes
commonly extend upward several meters or more
before pinching together.
4.3.4. Paleoseismic implications
Historical earthquakes in the Wabash Valley
have had magnitudes as high as ~5.5 and have
not caused liquefaction. The paleo-earthquakes in
the Wabash Valley far exceeded the magnitude of
any historic events because of the large areal
distribution of liquefaction effects and the large
size of some of the dikes. Magnitude of the event
6100 years ago is estimated to be ~ 7.5 (Obermeier
et al., 1993).
4.4. Coastal Washington State
Tidal marshes buried in coastal Washington and
nearby coastal Oregon record episodes of sudden
downdropping of land accompanied by tsunamis
during late Holocene time; these episodes have
been ascribed to great earthquakes ( M ~ 8-9) on
the basis of the large region along the coast that
appears to have dropped all at once (Atwater,
1987,1992; Darienzo and Peterson, 1990; Nelson,
1992). No direct evidence of strong shaking had
been discovered to corroborate that seismic shak-
ing accompanied the episodes of dropping before
the work described below (Obermeier, 1995).
These inferred earthquakes are interpreted to have
originated by rupture along the thrust fault where
an oceanic (Juan de Fuca) plate is being subducted
beneath the continental (North America) plate -
the Cascadia subduction zone (Fig. 26). However,
no strong Cascadia earthquake has occurred
during the time of written history in the Pacific
Northwest, some 200 years. Modem seismicity
near the subduction zone is limited to scattered,
small earthquakes, none with thrust mechanisms
in the region of sudden submergence.
Atwater (1992) inferred at least two occurrences
42 S. F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

124

50

0
48

46
C~~gvie~.

44
- ,....... i
) lS . . . . idedikes -- dS;~emsWide
Bonneville
I Dam _

Portiad ~ ~ ~ 42

100 KILOMETERS 0 100 KILOMETERS

I I _ l__ I

Fig. 26. The part of the Columbia River where banks of islands were searched for paleoliquefaction features. These searched islands
have ages between 600 and 1000 years at most places. Sands beneath islands are fine to medium grained and generally are at least
moderately susceptible to liquefaction. M a x i m u m dike width is measured at least 1 m above the base of the dike; it generally decreases
inland in the islands as shown. The density of small and medium-sized dikes in the islands also generally decreases inland. Index
m a p shows seaward edge of Cascadia subduction zone, which dives beneath the continent.

of coseismic subsidence when great earthquakes
struck the coast of Washington, including the
region around the Columbia River valley, during
the past 2000 years. Strong evidence indicates that
one event was about 300 years ago, and less
widespread evidence indicates that another event
occurred between 1400 and 1900 years ago. The
portion of the thrust fault that ruptured and
provided energy for seismic shaking was most
likely a small distance offshore (a few tens of
kilometers), on the basis of the location of the
subsided zone (Atwater, 1987), heat-flow data
(Hyndman and Wang, 1993), and strain data
(Savage and Lisowski, 1991).
I thought that the inferred earthquakes probably
should have caused strong shaking and abundant
liquefaction features near the coast, even in sedi-
ments having moderate to low susceptibility. To
verify occurrence of the earthquakes, I initiated a
search in 1992 for liquefaction features in cutbanks
of islands in the Columbia River.
4.4.1. Columbia River features
Many large islands were searched between the
towns of Astoria and Portland (Fig. 26). These
islands originated as braid bars on a grand scale.
The islands are flat, poorly drained, and swampy.
Large portions are submerged during the highest
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 43

tides. Strong currents and wave pounding are
severely eroding many islands and have sculpted
clean, vertical banks as high as 2 m, which extend
from water level to the top of the banks. Significant
areas are also being cleaned in plan view by tides.
The banks of the islands between Astoria and
Longview expose mainly soft, clay-rich silt deposits
(Fig. 27). Age at the base of the exposed clay-rich
cap is less than 1000 and more than 600 years on
most islands, on the basis of radiocarbon ages of
fossil marsh plants found in growth position, which
now are located just above the level of low tide.
Regional stratigraphic control of sediments
exposed on the islands is excellent. About 1.5 m
below the top of the banks is a tan horizon with
a thickness of a few centimeters. This horizon is
exceptionally rich in volcanic ash. About 10-15 cm
lower is a blue-gray horizon, generally several
centimeters thick, also rich in ash. Very locally,
rounded pumice clasts as large as 5 cm in diameter

fO ym old

d~ol~KI
moll

~,'Im ~Ind
~tr rich

~r rich
pumice
,,, 1 - 2 m
Cop

._~ eiUdn

Fig. 27. Typical field relations at liquefaction sites in Columbia River islands. A sand-filled dike cuts through a 1-2-m thickness of
soft silt and clay with a weakly developed paleosol at the top. The dike connects to a thin sheet of vented sand that lies on the
paleosol; the sand sheet is buried by a 1-m thickness of silt and clay. Tubers at widespread sites collected in their growth position
near the base of the stratum cut by dikes have radiocarbon ages ranging between 600 and 1000 years. Widths of tops of dikes are
only several millimeters at most places.
44 S.F Oberrneier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
occur in the lower ash horizon. Chemical analysis
shows that the ash and pumice have minerals and
elements identical with those of an eruption from
Mount St. Helens in A.D. 1480-1482 (C.D.
Peterson, Portland State Univ., written commun.,
1992). Therefore, the radiocarbon ages on fossil
marsh plants and the ash data show that the
sediments are old enough to record liquefaction
associated with the 300-year-old downdropping
event, but they probably were deposited after the
event of 1400-1900 years ago.
At many places, sand is exposed immediately
beneath the clay cap. Alluvium that makes up the
islands, generally thick, fine to medium sand, prob-
ably typically exceeds 100 m in thickness.
Conditions on many islands are nearly ideal for
formation of large liquefaction-induced features.
Not only is the cap thin, but the ground-water
table has almost certainly been within a meter or
so of the ground surface since the islands formed.
The tidal range at these islands is about 2 2.5 m,
and high tides inundate parts of the islands and
have done so for at least several hundred years.
Hundreds of dikes have been found along 9 km
of vertical banks in scattered islands upstream as
far as Deer Island (Fig. 26). At some places, the
tabular nature of the dikes is exposed in plan view.
Maximum dike widths and abundance of dikes
tend to decrease in the upstream direction. Fig. 27
illustrates relations observed at many islands. A
thin sheet of vented sand lies on a weakly devel-
oped, very soft soil that is about 1 m below the
present surface. Locally, the upper few centimeters
of the soil is contorted by small (centimeter-sized)
folds and other soft-sediment deformations. The
sand sheet is 1-4 cm thick and is as wide as 10 m.
The sheet connects to a nearly vertical, narrow,
tabular dike that widens downward markedly and
connects to sand beneath the clayey cap. Width of
the uppermost 5-15 cm of almost all dikes is only
several millimeters or less. Width near the base of
the cap is generally less than a few centimeters.
Where pits were dug along the bottom of the cap,
flow structures in the sand could be observed going
into the base of the dikes. Pits also exposed sills
as thick as 0.1 m running along the base of the
cap. Rarely were sills observed to have intruded
into the cap.
All dikes are interpreted to have been caused by
the coastal downdropping earthquake about 300
years ago for the following reasons: (1) the radio-
carbon ages of sticks along the surface of venting
agree with an earthquake 300 years ago; (2) trees
rooted in sediment above vented sand have maxi-
mum ages (about 230 years; determined from tree
rings) that are younger than 300 years; (3) dikes
generally increase in abundance toward the coast:
and (4) maximum dike widths increase toward the
coast. The 1-m thickness of silt and clay above
vented sand is interpreted to have been deposited
following the regional downdropping from the
subduction-zone earthquake 300 years ago. This
1-m thickness agrees well with the estimates of
coastal tectonic submergence (Atwater, 1987, 1992:
Darienzo and Peterson, 1990).
The 1-4-cm-thick sheet of vented sand may be
exceptionally thin because of the tidewater action
or because of subaqueous venting. The surface of
venting is submerged at high tide. Tidewater flows
relatively fast in this area, so any large cones of
sand initially vented to the surface could have been
beveled off and the sand scattered over a large area.
Many dikes are so narrow at the top as to be
hardly distinguishable. This same relation can also
be observed in a few dikes in the Wabash Valley
and in dikes in the 1811-1812 New Madrid earth-
quakes' meizoseismal region. The cause for this
pinching is not known but may be venting of a
very water rich mixture of sand and water through
a very soft cap that closed partially after venting.
The widest dikes (as much as 30cm) on the
Columbia River islands are interpreted to have
formed by lateral spreading because the sidewalls
appear to be parallel.
Others have suggested that the properties of the
soft silt cap on the islands may have prevented
dikes from forming far inland; they suggested,
instead, that only sills formed as a result of severe
liquefaction over large regions. The basis for this
suggestion is the presence of numerous thin sills
and sill-like features along the base of the cap,
which have been observed in samples collected in
8-cm-diameter tubes. I believe that such an inter-
pretation is unlikely for two reasons: (1) I have
never observed in other geographic-tectonic
regions where extensive sill formation was not
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
accompanied by dikes, and (2) the mechanics of
forming sills by severe liquefaction over a large
region without also forming dikes does not seem
plausible. In order to form sills over a large area,
the cap must be essentially floating to provide
space for the intrusion. The force to float the cap
must equal the weight of the cap. The simplest of
calculations shows that the uplift hydraulic pres-
sure to counteract the weight of a 1-2-m cap is
much higher than the tensile strength of a soft
cap. Therefore, dikes should develop. (If the cap
had been extraordinarily soft at the time of the
earthquake, plastic deformation might have devel-
oped along the base of the cap, but none was
observed.) I can envision other mechanisms
whereby small sills and other sedimentary struc-
tures could form without liquefaction, however, as
a result of seismic shaking.
4.4.2. Strength of prehistoric shaking
Subduction earthquakes can have very large
variations in shaking characteristics, offering the
possibility of an especially long duration of shaking
at very low frequencies. Such uncertainties cause
difficulty in interpretations of the strength of pre-
historic shaking. Still, significant conclusions can
be drawn for the earthquake of 300 years ago.
Small dikes possibly with venting in the Columbia
River islands appear to go inland as far as 90 km.
These dikes very likely formed at an acceleration
level on the order of 0.1-0.2 x g (Obermeier, 1995).
These accelerations accord with both theoretically
and statistically derived accelerations from seismo-
logical models for a subduction earthquake slightly
offshore that had a magnitude of ~8-8.5
(Geomatrix Consultants, 1995), although the
uncertainties in the models are relatively large.
The lack of abundant very wide dikes through-
out islands of the lower Columbia River valley
also supports the seismological models noted
above, which predict that exceptionally strong
shaking should not extend very far onshore. Even
though severe erosion of some islands has probably
removed evidence of dikes wider than 30 cm at
some places, there are many locales where erosion
probably has been slight. (The widest observed
dikes, 30 cm, are much narrower than dikes com-
monly found in the meizoseismal region of the
45
1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes or in the
Wabash Valley.) Another plausible model consis-
tent with observed liquefaction effects in the
Columbia River islands is a subduction earthquake
having a long duration of shaking at moderate to
low peak accelerations and at an exceptionally low
dominant vibration frequency (perhaps exceeding
a few hertz). The fine sands that underlie the
Columbia River islands are so thick and have such
a low permeability that pore pressures would not
dissipate between cycles of shaking, even at an
extremely low frequency. In addition, the thick
alluvial deposits of the Columbia River valley
probably strongly amplify bedrock accelerations,
irrespective of vibration frequency (Dickenson
et al., 1994). Therefore, the sand deposits of the
Columbia River should be especially susceptible
to forming liquefaction features during a long
duration of shaking, even at low to moderate
accelerations and exceptionally low frequencies.
4.4.3. Ancient marine-terracefeatures
Many ancient fluidization features have been
identified in late Pleistocene marine-terrace depos-
its in cliffs along the coast for 500 km from central
Washington to near the California-Oregon bound-
ary (Peterson et al., 1991; Peterson, 1992). The
features are of particular interest because they
admit the possibility of a long continuing record
of subduction-zone earthquake shaking near the
coast. The method for interpretation of an earth-
quake liquefaction origin is instructive.
Source beds for the fluidization features include
beach sands and sandy gravels and lagoonal sands.
Clastic dikes are as much as 5 m in height. Dikes
are filled with clean sand or gravelly sand at almost
all places. Dikes are as wide as a meter in scattered
locales. Some dikes have penetrated upward into
dune sands or have cut through lagoonal muds
and peat. Sills are particularly abundant. Sills
commonly extend beneath lagoonal muds and
peats; small, steeply dipping dikes branch off from
these sills at many places and cut up into thin
(< 0.5 m) strata of low permeability at the surface.
The largest sills are as much as a meter in thickness.
Even thin sills can extend far laterally.
The possibility that the fluidization features were
caused by wave action that induced liquefaction
46 S. F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1- 76
must be considered because the terrace deposits
were laid down under shallow-marine or shoreline
conditions. Storm waves can impose significant
shear stresses on the ocean-bottom sediments, even
where the water depth exceeds 60-70 m (E.C.
Clukey, geotechnical engineer, Exxon Corp., writ-
ten commun., 1992). Wave-induced cyclic shear
stresses are thought to cause liquefaction in sands
and granular deposits in a manner analogous to
seismically induced liquefaction (Nataraja and
Gill, 1983). The action of storm waves pounding
on beaches also seems plausible as a mechanism
for forming fluidization features. For the fluidiza-
tion features in the marine terraces of coastal
Oregon and Washington, though, the mechanism
of wave-related liquefaction probably can be elimi-
nated at some sites because dikes extend up into
dune sands where wave action seems unlikely.
Additionally, some dikes and sills cut lagoonal
deposits at places that probably would have been
protected from wave action. Significant artesian
pressures at these lagoonal sites also are implausi-
ble. Thus, a seismic liquefaction origin seems prob-
able for some of the features along the coast.
5. Features generally of nonseismic or unknown
origin
I have surveyed the voluminous literature of
soft-sediment deformation, making special note of
common features that might be confused with
those resulting from seismic shaking, Assignment
of unambiguous origin to isolated features may be
impossible unless the regional pattern of sizes and
abundance is determined. Nonseismic features that
form in a wide variety of environments are consid-
ered in this section. The discussion includes both
chemical processes related to weathering and phys-
ical processes as diverse as slumping, freezing
behavior, and flowing water.
5.1. Terrestrial disturbance features
A wide variety of ground-disturbance features
similar to those caused by seismic liquefaction
form above the water table. A hydrological or a
geotechnical engineering perspective is often help-
ful for interpreting origin.
5.1.1. Nonseismic sand boils'
Features suspected to have a seismic origin
should be examined first with the perspective of
determining whether artesian conditions were plau-
sible at the site. This is the basic approach that
was taken for evaluation of the craters in coastal
South Carolina, where it was shown that non-
seismic sand boils were implausible because the
craters had formed along the crests of ridges.
Nonseismic sand boils that abound in parts of
the meizoseismal region of the 1811-1812 New
Madrid earthquakes are especially instructive.
Flooding causes strong artesian flow beneath man-
made levees that parallel the Mississippi River.
These artesian conditions cause abundant sand
boils to form in nearby lowlands every few years
(Kolb, 1976). Most appear to have formed under
subaerial conditions. The sand boils are generally
restricted to within 0.5-1 km of the levees.
(Natural levees should not cause artesian condi-
tions because of the many breaks in the levees.)
Detailed characteristics of the sand boils are
described by Li et al. (1996).
The cone-shaped external form of the nonseismic
sand boils along the levees is similar to that of
solitary sand blows of earthquake-induced lique-
faction. Internally though, differences commonly
occur because artesian flow normally starts slowly
and then steadily increases, in contrast to the much
more sudden, violent flow that typically accompa-
nies early phases of venting due to seismic liquefac-
tion, especially where large sand blows have been
vented. Evidence for this large difference in flow
rates can be in the sedimentary record.
The basal portion of sediment vented by non-
seismic sand boils along the Mississippi River
levees typically is significantly finer than that of
the large seismic sand blows. The sand boils gen-
erally have a discrete basal zone of silt to silty
very fine sand that ranges in thickness from a few
millimeters to a few centimeters. As shown in
Fig. 28, going upward in sand boils are rhythmic,
thin, planar strata of silty sand to clean sand that
dip away from the central part of the sand boil.
The individual strata are much more sharply
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76 47

Fig. 28. Schematic vertical section showing typical nonseismic sand boil that formed under subaerial conditions (no vertical exaggera-
tion). The sand boil formed adjacent to a high manmade levee along the Mississippi River during a period of severe flooding. Vented
sediment has been laid down on the dark-colored ground surface. View shows bedding details characteristic of venting from artesian
conditions. Note the well-defined rhythmic planar bedding. Darker bands are slightly finer grained (silty sand) than lighter bands
(clean sand). Dip of dark bands typically exceeds 30. Feeder dike (vent) has a form that is irregularly tubular. Very steeply dipping
bedding planes are in upper part of the conduit. Source sand lies at very shallow depth. Alternating layers of fine (dark) and coarse
(light) vented sediment indicate a variable discharge rate through the feeder dike. Sketch courtesy of Yong Li.

defined, are more uniform in thickness (typically
a few millimeters to 1 cm), and have a narrower
range of grain sizes than sediment vented in
response to liquefaction caused by the 1811-1812
New Madrid earthquakes. Probably the individual
layers in sand boils represent slight variations in
the rate of venting.
The dip angle of individual layers also typically
much exceeds that found in a seismically induced
sand blow (see Fig. 19).
Not always, though, are there readily diagnostic
differences in bedding characteristics between non-
seismic sand boils and seismic sand blows. Bedding
planes within a sand blow can be about as sharply
defined as in a nonseismic sand boil, especially for
a small sand blow. (For example, see the photo-
graph on the cover of the April 7, 1989, vol. 244,
issue of Science.) Whether the dip angle of bedding
planes is diagnostic of origin is not yet known.
Thus bedding characteristics alone may be inade-
quate for distinguishing between sand volcanoes
formed by artesian flow and those resulting from
seismic liquefaction.
Fortunately though, characteristics other than
bedding generally suffice for determining origin.
These characteristics are well illustrated by effects
of artesian flow beneath levees along the
Mississippi River, which forms sand boils that
typically cut through the thinnest part (generally
< 1 m) of the clay-rich cap, much as sand blows
do. In contrast to sand blows, though, sand boils
have approximately circular vents. Their diameters
generally range from a few centimeters to greater
than 1 m. I emphasize that in contrast to the
circular dikes for artesian sand boils, earthquake-
induced liquefaction beneath a clay-rich cap nor-
mally develops tabular fissures in the cap.
Therefore, tabular sand-filled fissures that widen
downward and connect to a sand unit that extends
horizontally for tens to hundreds of meters are
probably dikes associable with earthquake-induced
liquefaction, although the possibility of a non-
seismic landsliding origin (discussed below) must
be considered.
Where the cap in the meizoseismal region of the
1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes is very sand
rich and friable, both sand blows and nonseismic
sand boils typically form approximately circular
craters at the surface. Craters from both can be as
much as a meter in diameter. I am unaware of
definitive sediment relations to always ascertain a
seismic or nonseismic origin for individual craters.
48 XF. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
Therefore, the regional pattern of occurrence is
critical for interpretations. Such a pattern becomes
more evident as earthquake magnitude increases.
5.1.2. Streambank landslides
Slumps (of largely rotational movement) are
commonplace along streambanks for both seismic
and nonseismic conditions. Sliding blocks (of
dominantly horizontal movement) can develop in
special nonseismic field settings and can resemble
seismically induced lateral spreads. I judge that
generally it is not worthwhile to attempt to assign
seismic or nonseismic origin to prehistoric slumps
that may have occurred along actively eroding
streambanks; there are too many uncertainties
about the physical setting when such an ancient
slump formed. For example, questions crucial to
interpretation include the initial ground slope and
the possibility of a streambank having been
undercut by an eroding stream. These questions
may be virtually impossible to resolve. Slumps in
loose, fine sands are especially difficult to interpret
because they may be prone to static liquefaction
even on relatively gentle slopes (Lade, 1992).
Very thin sand layers bounded above and below
by low-permeability materials can slump whenever
river levels drop rapidly (Springer et al., 1985).
This same sediment may move as a lateral spread
during earthquake shaking. For example, large
blocks of clay bedded with thin, laterally con-
tinuous sand lenses ruptured as far back as 200 m
from a free face during the 1964 Alaska earthquake
(M=9.2); Seed (1968) interpreted the failures to
have initiated in the thin sand lenses.
Recent studies show instead that failure at some
of the Alaskan sites initiated during the earthquake
through sensitive ("quick") clay layers in the
blocks (Updike et al., 1988). Large slablike blocks
of sensitive clay also commonly fail under static
conditions, however (Karlsrud et al., 1984).
Proving a paleoseismic origin for ancient block
failures along stream banks in sensitive clays or in
clays with thin sand beds has never been done to
my knowledge, and probably would be a formida-
ble task.
Large blocks of alluvium that slip nonseismically
along buried erosional surfaces on clay-rich shales
are not unusual. This type of failure is enhanced
where the erosion surface on the shale dips toward
a deep river. Good examples of this type of failure
are located along the Ohio River, where shales
have internal friction angles as low as 7-8 (Mesri
and Gibala, 1971). In contrast to the process of
earthquake-induced liquefaction, the large blocks
seem to move slowly, and there is no evidence of
sudden or forceful venting of sediment (Obermeier
et al., 1993).
Nonseismic sliding of blocks can form steeply
dipping fissures through a clay-rich cap. These
breaks conceivably could be filled with cohesion-
less sediment that flows into the fissure from
beneath the cap, which could resemble dikes
formed by earthquake-induced liquefaction. A test
for seismic origin is provided, though, if dikes can
be found on alluvial plains far from any significant
slopes. Another criterion for origin is to place
limits on the maximum artesian head; if this head
is sufficiently low, a seismic origin is likely
(Obermeier et al., 1993).
One more test for landslides of suspected seismic
origin is the regional pattern of sizes and ages
(Jibson and Keefer, 1988,1989). Landslides far
from active streambanks, in more stable settings,
also can be analyzed using geotechnical engineer-
ing procedures to interpret the likelihood of seismic
triggering (Jibson, this volume).
5.1.3. Ground disturbance by trees
Many Quaternary beach sediments of the
Southeastern United States contain evidence of
ground disturbance by trees. Tree roots commonly
penetrate the sand-rich cap to a depth of 2-3 m.
When the roots decay, large holes develop that
later fill with sand. Many now display poorly
defined layers of clay-mineral segregation that
result from weathering; however, the fill sediment
has neither the well-defined laminar bedding nor
the underlying graded zone of sediment that char-
acterizes filled seismic craters.
The beach deposits also contain fairly wide-
spread evidence of pits that were excavated by
root mats of trees that were thrown down (perhaps
by hurricanes). Sediment in these pits typically
does not have the orderly progression of clast sizes
present in the lower part of the liquefaction-
induced craters (Fig. 14). Some pits excavated by
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
thrown trees can be distinguished from liquefac-
tion-induced craters by the absence of feeder dikes
or by the absence of sediment from depth in the
pit. Verification that sediment has been introduced
from depth may require analysis of mineralogical,
weathering, and grain-size data (Gelinas, 1986).
Roots from thrown trees can also form tabular
breaks in a fine-grained cap. Locally the breaks
can be filled with sand, gravel, and other sediment
dragged into the break as the root is pulled from
the ground. However, the dragged sediment tends
to be arranged much more haphazardly and have
a much larger range of grain sizes than an intrusion
formed by seismic liquefaction.
5.1.4. Mima mounds
Mima mounds (sometimes called prairie or
pimple mounds) have been interpreted as having
a seismic origin in many geographic areas (Berg,
1990); however, seismicity has never been observed
to produce features closely resembling mima
mounds (Saucier, 1991a). Mima mounds occur
throughout a large part of the meizoseismal region
of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Here
the mounds are domes of silt- or sand-rich materi-
als that are generally less than 30 m in diameter
and 1 m high. Exceptional domes are as much as
1.7 m high but have diameters of only 10-12 m.
The mounds have essentially the same texture as
the underlying sediment. Soil development in the
mounds is strong, indicating an age of thousands
of years. The origin(s) of the mima mounds in the
vicinity of the 1811-1812 earthquakes is (are) not
known. In many upland areas, though, the mima
mounds are formed on nonliquefiable deposits and
therefore are not of earthquake origin. Mounds
on alluvial lowlands can be identified as not result-
ing from earthquake liquefaction if excavation
shows an absence of vents to connect the mounds
to underlying source beds (Fuller, 1912, p. 80).
Mima mounds can usually be distinguished from
sand blows on aerial photographs. Mounds typi-
cally show regularity of spacing, alignment, and
size (Fig. 29). In contrast, sand blows are typically
more irregularly spaced, have widely differing sizes
(heights and diameters), and are not aligned along
such precisely defined curves. Comparison of
Fig. 18, showing sand blows formed on point-bar
49
deposits, with Fig. 29, showing mima mounds,
illustrates the contrast.
5.2. Features formed in subaqueous environments:
It is not possible in this article to describe and
discuss the great number of features, mainly synde-
positional in origin, that can also be triggered by
seismic shaking. Only some of the more common
types, mainly formed in fluvial, lacustrine, and
nearshore marine situations, are discussed herein.
For a more complete overview of the myriad
possibilities, the reader is referred to Lowe and
LoPiccolo (1974), Lowe (1975), Sims (1978),
Reineck and Singh (1980), Allen (1982), Mills
(1983), Jones and Preston (1987), van Loon and
Brodzikowski (1987), Einsele et al. (1991), and
van Loon (1992).
Four types of features are considered below: (1)
load structures in muds; (2) water-escape struc-
tures in granular sediments; (3) sheet slumps,
warped beds, and recumbent folds; and (4) turbid-
ites. It is difficult in most field situations to assem-
ble compelling evidence for a seismic versus
nonseismic origin for these features. However,
deformation features in some lake sediments can
be attributed to: seismic events, and examples
follow descriptions of the four types of features.
5.2.1. Load structures in muds
Any plastic deformation of mud almost always
occurs soon after deposition. The deformation
generally is triggered because the rapid deposition
of sand above very soft, clay-rich sediments causes
buildup of pore-water pressure and gravitational
instability (Dzuiynski and Walton, 1965; Allen,
1982; Brodzikowski et al., 1987). Plastic deform-
ations seem to be most abundant where rivers
carry much sand, silt, and clay; settings where
rivers debouch into lakes are also favorable.
Montmorillonite-rich clays seem to enhance the
deformations because of the exceptional ability of
montmorillonite to absorb water and become
extremely soft.
Especially plentiful in the geological record are
soft-sediment deformational features known as
"load-casted" or simply "load" structures. Load
structures are bulbous bodies of sandy or silty
50 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

o 1 MILE
I J I
o 1 KILOMETER

Fig. 29. Aerial photograph (1940) of mima mounds (white circular spots) near Sikeston, Scott County, MO, in the northern part of
the meizoseismal area of 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Note regularity of spacing and alignment of mounds.
 S.F.. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 51

material that intrude downward into underlying

weaker, finer grained muddy sediment. The sever-
ity of deformation is controlled by two factors: ,4
the difference in densities between the two adjacent
layers and the weakness of the underlying layer.
Sand deposited rapidly over water-saturated,
extremely soft mud is ideal for formation of load
features. Two types of load structures are preva-
lent: pseudonodules and load-casted ripples. B
Pseudonodules form when overlying sandy or
silty sediment becomes detached and sinks to
become isolated kidney-shaped bodies encased in
the underlying mud. Pseudonodules generally
occur laterally adjacent to other undetached
load structures (Allen, 1982, pp. 359-360). C
Pseudonodules have been produced experimentally
in the laboratory by hammering a container in
which sand overlay water-saturated, very soft clay
(Kuenen, 1958; see Fig. 30 herein). Sims (1975)
correlated pseudonodules found in modern lake
sediments, similar to those produced by Kuenen,
with known earthquake events.
Load-casted ripples are sandy or silty intrusions
that form because of the unequal loading of D
migrating ripples of sand on a mud substratum.
Load-casted ripples show progressively deformed
radial internal lamination caused by the rotation
of the ripple cross laminations as the ripples sink
(Dzulynski and Walton, 1965, pp. 146-149). The
asymmetry reflects current direction, as illustrated
in Fig. 31. Although load-casted ripples can result
from earthquake shaking, they generally develop
synchronously with deposition of overlying sand
and do not require earthquake shaking. E
0 5 INCHES
Load structures produced by rapid sedimenta- j ~ t
tion are illustrated in a ditch exposure in the 0 10 CENTIMETERS
meizoseismal region of the 1811-1812 New Madrid
earthquakes. The section in Fig. 32 shows clays Fig. 30. Pseudonodules formed by shaking (from Kuenen,
1958). A layer of sand (unit 1) overlies very soft clay (unit 2)
interbedded with layers of sand that are apparently in (A). With shaking, pseudonodules developed ((B) and (C))
related to intermittent deposition in a water-filled and became completely enclosed in clay ((D) and (E)). Note
swale. Small crevasse deltas formed convex-up the destruction of layering from (C) to (D). This deformation
sand lenses containing climbing ripple cross lamin- is due to sinking of the entire sand layer into the very soft clay
ations. The lenses are coarser upward, fine toward and also to localized sinking caused by uneven loading.
the edges, and are laterally adjacent to layers of
pseudonodules (25-50 cm long and 5-25 cm wide) percentage of each sand lens as it thins toward the
made up of similar grain sizes. The base of each edge (see north-south view in Fig. 32). Detailed
sand lens has load structures, including load-casted discussion of these sedimentary structures is in
ripples. The load structures make up a greater Obermeier et al. (1990, pp. 35-38).
52 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Fig. 31. Developmentof load-casted ripples, caused by ripple
crests sinking into soft mud. Note the progressive tilt of the
internal cross-lamination, which causes the downflow portion
to be more steeplyinclined than the upflow portion (modified
from Dzulynskiand Kotlarczyk, 1962). Load-castedripplescan
also have an opposite sense of rotation (upflow more steeply
inclined than downflow). Length of the ripples is commonly
2 5cm.
The load structures in Fig. 32 are interpreted as
synsedimentary in origin and not as earthquake
induced on the basis of the following criteria: (1)
both the pseudonodules and load-casted ripples
are gradational into the sand lenses, with the sense
of development related to flow direction; (2) sev-
eral layers of pseudonodules are laterally equiva-
lent to largely undeformed sand lenses; and (3)
the recurring conditions of sedimentation (rapid
progradational deposition of sand over soft clay)
were conducive to this type of soft-sediment defor-
mation. Although load structures such as these
may be formed by earthquakes, their vertical repe-
tition in this sequence (as shown also by Allen,
1982, Figs. 9, and 10; or Coleman and Prior, 1980,
Figs. 15, 21, 22, and 32) within what was obviously
a short time span argues for a depositional origin.
5.2.2. Water-escape structures in granular
sediments
The water-escape features discussed below, listed
in order of generally increasing size, include dish
structures, pillars, and convolute bedding
(Pettijohn and Potter, 1964; Lowe and LoPiccolo,
1974). Also included in this class are ball-and-
pillow structures. These water-escape features can
develop either shortly after or long after initial
deposition, in response to a generally upward flow
of water through granular deposits (Lowe and
LoPiccolo, 1974), although most form very shortly
after deposition. Laminar flow by seepage may be
adequate to form small features such as dishes,
but turbulent flow by fluidization is required for
many others (Lowe and LoPiccolo, 1974). All
these features can form in seismic or nonseismic
conditions.
In vertical section, dish structures appear as thin,
dark-colored, subhorizontal, flat to concave-up
laminations (Fig. 33). Individual dishes range
from clean sharp lines as thin as a featheredge to
diffuse zones up to 2 mm thick. Widths can be as
much as 50cm (Lowe and LoPiccolo, 1974).
Dishes appear to form as upward moving water
locally flows beneath laminations of lower perme-
ability and escapes by horizontal flow. The finer
grains, such as clay, mica, and organic grains, are
filtered out and become trapped within the lower
permeability zone.
Pillars are circular columns or sheetlike zones
of structureless or swirled sand, in places bounded
by dark laminations, that cut steeply through sand
ranging from structureless to laminated (Fig. 34).
These features range from tiny vertical tubes less
than a millimeter in diameter to large flame struc-
tures more than a meter across and several meters
in height (Lowe and LoPiccolo, 1974). These
features form from a localized fluidization of the
sediment.
Convolute bedding is the name given to a later-
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology44 (1996) 1-76 53

w~
~c~th

-In

,_/,S I

EXPLANATION
Medium sand

U Very fine 1o fine sand

" ] Coarse silt to very fine sand

m Laminated silt with minor very fine sand

m Clay with Ittir,~ts and laminae of silt

Fig. 32. Load structures produced by rapid sedimentation. Block diagram shows spatial relations inferred for crevassedeltas extending
into a shallow, water-filled swale. The deltas form convex-up lenses having ripple cross laminations (white, with diagonal lines). The
edges of the delta are rippled sands that completely foundered into the soft clay (gray), forming pseudonodules (detached white
bodies with diagonal lines), whereas the main body exhibits local load-casted ripples and a broad sagging. Arrows indicate direction
of paleocurrents. The pseudonodules and load-casted ripples are load structures resulting from rapid sedimentation. Diagram from
Obermeier et al. (1990).

ally extensive series of more-or-less regular folds
(Fig. 35), which are either developed throughout
a single sedimentary unit or confined to its upper
part (Allen, 1982). As Allen described, folds
increase in wavelength with increasing thickness
of the bed or deformed zone. Strong asymmetry
and recumbent folding are rare. Convolute bedding
can develop at the top of sand units as thin as
15 cm (Lowe, 1975) and thicker than 5 m (Lowe
and LoPiccolo, 1974). The origins of convolute
bedding are unclear but probably relate to a variety
of mechanisms (Lowe, 1975). Lowe noted that
convoluted sediment is typically somewhat finer
grained and more clay rich than subjacent sand;
formation o f convolutions in sand beds may be
caused more by instability of the subjacent sand
than by fluidization o f the convolute-bedding zone.
Fig. 35 shows field relations commonly observed
54 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

Fig. 34. Pillar structures in fine-grained sandstone. Pillars are

light-colored washed sand between the upturned margins of
strongly concave dishes. Photograph from Lowe and
LoPiccolo (1974).

Fig. 33. Strong development of dish structures in fine-grained Mudstone

sandstone Dish structures are the very thin laminations. Two :.'.~.~.'." "..'- "..".'.: . . ~ . i..;
generations of dish structures are present Older dishes ( 1) are
strongly concave, are discontinuous, and have commonly been
- ...):'... Convolute bedding
blurred by the upward flow of fluidized sediment. Dishes formed
later (2) are flatter, more continuous, and separated vertically
by sand showing a well-defined substructure - the dark dish
lamination, an underlying zone of white clay-poor sand, and Pillars
an underlying zone of gray argillaceous sand. Photograph from
Lowe and LoPiccolo (1974). I have observed such strong devel-
"~'---~" " -<..H_." " ' ""
opment of dish structures in sediments exposed in banks of the
Edisto River (Fig. 11) near the meizoseismal zone of the 1886 -..~--~..'."..:~ .. ,.SL,..--,a--'.. : .'.
earthquake at Charleston. Dishes

a m o n g d i s h structures, pillars, a n d c o n v o l u t e b e d -
f ~ P
ding, I h a v e o b s e r v e d all these features a n d rela- ~ f L-,- Flat laminations
t i o n s in p r o x i m i t y to dikes at sites o f e a r t h q u a k e -
induced liquefaction.
Structureless sand
I n b a l l - a n d - p i l l o w structures, k i d n e y - s h a p e d
b o d i e s o f fine o r silty s a n d ( p s e u d o n o d u l e s ) h a v e
foundered into a cleaner sand. A photograph of
these s t r u c t u r e s was p r o v i d e d b y P e t t i j o h n a n d Fig. 35. Commonly observed vertical sequence of the sedi-
P o t t e r (1964, plate 100A). B a l l - a n d - p i l l o w struc- mentary structures of convolute bedding, pillars, and dishes.
Example shown (from Lowe and LoPiccolo, 1974) is in thick
tures are a b u n d a n t in m a n y glaciofluvial deltas sandstone beds. I have observed this sequence of structures in
a n d h a v e l e n g t h s r a n g i n g f r o m c e n t i m e t e r s to tens sediments exposed in banks of the Edisto River (Fig. 11) near
o f centimeters. C l e a r l y the features r e a d i l y f o r m the meizoseismal zone of the 1886 earthquake at Charleston.
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
very soon after deposition of the glaciofluvial host
sediments. Seismic shaking has also been docu-
mented as a cause of ball-and-pillow features
(Ringrose, 1989).
5.2.3. Sheet slumps, warped beds, and recumbent
folds
Features such as sheet slumps and warped beds
(Allen, 1982) and recumbent folds (Allen and
Banks, 1972; Sims, 1973; Owen, 1987) are well
represented in the geological record. Sheet slumps
tend to form in thin, laterally extensive deposits
of silt and sand interbedded with mud. The mode
of failure is mainly translational movement of a
sheetlike body down a very gentle slope. Slight to
severe warping and local thrusting may develop in
the failed sheet. Sheet slumps range in thickness
from a few tenths of a meter to greater than 100
m (Allen, 1982). Lacustrine and marine deposits
normally host the slumps. Studies in modern envi-
rouments show that huge sheet slumps can develop
on subaqueous slopes of 1% or lower (Allen,
1982). Oversteepening or earthquake shocks are
often invoked to explain sheet slumps.
Thin beds of alternating mud and cohesionless
sediment can also be warped by earthquakes,
especially in strata near the surface. Audemard
and de Santis (1991) observed that during a mod-
erate earthquake, warping developed within the
uppermost 0.2 m where mud overlay a thin sand
stratum. Sims (1973) reported the occurrence of
low-amplitude folds in the uppermost 4-5 cm of
lake sediments (mud with very fine sandy laminae
and partings) and interpreted the folds to have
developed in response to a nearby earthquake
having a magnitude of 6.5. Load structures and
recumbent folds were also developed in the muds.
Sims found similar features in buried strata and
showed that the buried features were synchronous
with previous historic earthquakes. Similarity of
morphology in the same types of source sediment
played an important role in the arguments of Sims.
5.2.4. Turbidites
A turbidite is a sequence of deposits produced
by the flow of a sediment-water mixture known as
a turbidity current. Many turbidites are thought
to be caused by huge submarine landslides. The
55
model sequence of deposits going upward is (1) a
thick bed of structureless sand possibly with some
gravel that fines upward, (2) beds of sand with
parallel and ripple laminations, and possibly beds
with convolute laminations, (3) thin beds of silt
and sand with parallel laminations, and (4) a bed
of mud. The many variations found in nature were
discussed by Allen (1982).
Widespread turbidites are very common in
marine sediments (see numerous articles in the
journal special issue edited by Cita and Lucchi,
1984). It is often tacitly assumed that such a
distribution strongly suggests a seismic origin for
turbidites and warrants the name "seismites."
Although a widespread synchronous distribution
is suggestive of seismicity, other mechanisms such
as storm-induced wave trains or tsunamis can be
responsible. Probably widespread distribution of
thick turbidites is indicative of a seismic origin,
though. An excellent example of how turbidites
can be used in conjunction with other evidence for
regional tectonic downdropping was given by
Adams (1990). (See Jibson, this volume, for discus-
sion of seismic versus nonseismic origin of
turbidites.)
5.2.5. Paleoseismie examples distinguished from
nonseismic subaqueous features
Data showing the regional pattern of types,
sizes, and abundance of features generally are
required to develop compelling evidence for a
seismic origin for the types of subaqueous features
described in this section. Proving widespread devel-
opment of deformed sediments at the same time
in fluvial deposits is extremely difficult; proving
such development in lakes, especially deep lakes,
can be more feasible.
A good example was given by Ringrose (1989).
Features that probably resulted from seismic shak-
ing were found at widespread exposures in sedi-
ment in a late Quaternary glacial lake in Scotland.
The sediment consists mostly of laminated silt and
sand. Deformation features developed in two epi-
sodes about 10 000 years ago. The features are
restricted to well-defined horizons of very large
areal extent. Fig. 36 shows how the styles range
from most severe (Fig. 36A) to marginal
(Fig. 36D). The most severe deformations are
56 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Fig. 36. Schematic depiction of sediment deformation structures
observed by Ringrose (1989) in late Quaternary lake sediments;
deformation probably resulted from seismic shaking. Sediments
consist of laminated silt (white) and sand (stippled). (A-D)
Change from most severe deformations to slightly distinguisha-
ble deformations. Dimension of each figure is about 2 m.
(Reproduced with permission of Blackwell Science Ltd.)
centrally located in a geographic sense and are
characterized with the "fault-grading stratigraphy"
of Seilacher (1969). This stratigraphy refers to a
four-fold sequence, going from the top down: (1)
completely fluidized sediment, (2) partially coher-
ent sediment layers, (3) faulted layers, and (4)
undeformed sediment. Evidence of deformation in
Fig. 36D is so slight that beds are only gently
warped, and there is very minor evidence for
fluidization.
Adams (1982) reported the presence of thin
contorted zones within silt and clay varves of early
Holocene age in eastern Canada. The contorted
zones appeared to be coeval at sites in widely
scattered glacial lakes, and there was a crude
regional pattern with greatest deformations at the
center. Thus, a paleoseismic origin was interpreted.
M6rner (1985) reported a similar type of finding
in glacial lake varves of early Holocene age in
Sweden; association of deformed varves with tec-
tonic faulting, fracturing, and slumping led to a
seismic interpretation.
Seismicity can also cause a short increase in the
rate of sedimentation. Doig (1986) suggested that
undeformed silt horizons in widespread lakes were
caused by prehistoric earthquakes in eastern
Canada. An important element in interpretation
was the presence of the silt horizons containing
distinctive chemical imprints within normally
organic-matter-rich deposits; these same relations
were documented for a historic earthquake.
5.3. Featuresformed by weathering
Distinguishing liquefaction features from those
of weathering origin can be difficult where weather-
ing has been severe. Many varied features pro-
duced by chemical weathering in the Southeastern
United States mimic those caused by earthquake
liquefaction (Obermeier et al., 1990). The discus-
sion below concerns features that are regional in
occurrence, but the concepts are applicable to
sediments in many subtropical areas. The discus-
sion focuses on the following: (1) E-horizon
tongues and (2) BE or fragipan soil horizons.
A loose, clean, white sand blanket covers large
regions of the Southeastern United States where
the ground surface is underlain by sandy sediments
of barrier-beach and nearshore marine origin that
are Pleistocene to Tertiary in age. The white sand
underlies a 0-15-cm-thick, dark-gray A horizon.
This white sand resembles vented sand but, instead,
is a pedogenic E horizon that has formed by severe
weathering and leaching of the sandy sediment
(Gamble, 1965). Clays and labile minerals have
been removed from the E horizon, and weathering
products have been deposited in the underlying
B horizon.
The boundary between the E and B horizons is
commonly abrupt and irregular and is charac-
terized by narrow, near-vertical tongues of the
white E horizon that penetrate downward into the
B horizon. Locally, tongues of E-horizon sand
extend more than a meter into a thick, red to
brown, clayey B horizon. Tongues of this size and
shape can give the impression of fractured and
brecciated ground and might be mistaken for
liquefaction features unless examined carefully.
Pedogenic tongues can range in morphology from
tubular (Gamble, 1965) to planar (defining
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 57

B-horizon polygons; Nettleton et al., 1968a). (Daniels et al., 1966; Nettleton et al., 1968a, b;
Hence, tongue morphology is tenuous evidence for Steele et al., 1969). Relations illustrated in Fig. 38
either pedogenic or earthquake origin. tend to occur in the area (plan view) between red,
A very common type of pedogenic tonguing is oxidized spodosols on beach ridge crests and the
sketched in Fig. 37. The tongue of white sand is area where there are black, organic-matter-rich
10-30 cm thick and dips gently downslope. The spodosols in interridge depressions. For the exam-
tongue is surrounded by a rind of black to dark- ple shown, the BE' horizon is a zone of pale-
orange, humate- and iron-oxide-stained sand. brown, clayey sand and white sand. Both above
Some of the nearly horizontal parts of the tongue and below this soil horizon are zones of white,
can be traced as far as 7 m. At the upslope end of well-sorted, fine to medium quartz sand. This sand
the tongue, the feature abruptly turns up, breaks cuts vertically across the clay layer at many places
through the overlying Bh soil horizon, and flares and creates irregular masses of the brown clayey
toward the surface. Just below the surface, the sand. The contacts between the white sand and
tongue is continuous with white sand of the E the brown clayey sand are typically sharp with
horizon. The downslope end of the tongue (not regard to both color and texture. The sand grain
shown) is terminated by a black- and orange- sizes in both the leached sand and the clayey sand
stained rind that is continuous with the Bh horizon; masses are essentially the same. The sharp contacts
in other places, the tongue-rind contact becomes may suggest to the uninitiated that this feature
diffuse downslope. formed by some type of ground disruption, possi-
Another category of pedogenic feature that bly ancient liquefaction.
might be confused with earthquake-induced lique- The examples above are but two of many types
faction features is the BE' horizon. The horizon is of confusing features caused by weathering. Other
surrounded by leached, clean sand (Fig. 38). common types resemble shear zones and joints
Studies of this weathering profile indicate that the caused by faulting.
clean sand forms from the progressive chemical Distinguishing liquefaction features from those
destruction of a clay-rich Bt (argillic) horizon of weathering origin cannot always be done, but

~ ~ . ... S//~hdy
~/op/ngOroundsu~ce
.-".'" .' : ~ : - - ~ - - , L ~ ".White, manive, w e l l - l o r t e d u n d ,'~'~'='
~y~'

~ ~ . . . U ~ F / -~ . ,. _~/ /, / ./ /. 7 ./ /./ /, / / / / -' . /. : : . . . / ~/ .j f. . .. . ~- ~ . _ ~ .. ..~.....

..... / / . [ /'.. --~--~-Z / / / / J ~ / .Grayish-black, m a s s i v e B h - h o r i z o n M n d , / ' ~ ' - - ~

" ~- > -,. ~ "~" Dark-reddish-brown,

m--hrhoon
~ m ~ ~ " " \ " ~ 7 ~ sand veryf rm
am -,, ~ .... . horizontc;,;gi~el.. "..'.. . .

> Q.

R~ o ~ ~ . ,;~'~,~. E,~,~=~

o
NOVERTICALEXAGGERATION //

Fig. 37. Block diagram showing a white, pedogenic, E-horizon sand tongue exposed in a drainage ditch near Charleston, SC. Prime
designations on E and Bh horizons indicate the lower horizons of a vertically repeated weathering profile. Host deposit is a structureless
(massive) sand. Bhir is iron-enriched Bh horizon. Note that the E-horizon tongue dips in the same direction as the ground surface.
58 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

Ii 0 20 iNCHES
! Bank overhang I II II
O 50 CENTIMETERS
NO VERTICAL EXAGGERATION

/ / , . / /
/ / / / ,, / / / /
/ / / / , ~ / , , /
/ /~ , / / /
/ -
/ / .... , / , ," . /
, / / , /"

," .- / / , , ,/ ,/ Massive Bh horizon s a n d ; / / /

/ / / , / /" /" /"
/
/
///
// , /
//," / .grayish-black grading down" , /
//,///,". .... /, / / to dark-reddish-brown / ", ///
,-'/ ./ , , / / / / / / / . /- /

" ../ z/ / / , // , - / " ./ , " " //,

L
! ~: !..J~ i . ...~
i: W h te, mass ve, well-SOrted Sand

~r

L .. . -

White, well-sorted sano,

locally stained pale brown
\

Not exposed --- ~ - / Not scraped

Fig. 38. Schematic vertical section through BE' weathering horizon near Charleston, SC. White, structureless (massive), well-sorted
sand is interpreted to have had clays removed by chemical weathering.

some clues include the following: (1) comparison casts are downward-pinching, planar, nearly verti-
of mineralogy and grain sizes of stable minerals cal features that originated by thermal contraction
(especially quartz) in the feature with those in the of frozen ground.
host sediment, and (2) regional pattern of size and Not discussed are sediment deformations caused
abundance of the features. by the weight or movement of glaciers. Such
deformations, called "glacitectonic," have been
5.4. Features formed in a periglacial environment extensively referenced by van Loon and
Brodzikowski (1987).
Two classes of features produced in a periglacial
(freezing-melting) environment, loosely defined as 5.4.1. Involutions
( 1) involutions and (2) ice-wedge casts, can resem- Involutions are level-ground perturbations of
ble features that have an earthquake-induced surficial sediments caused by freezing or thawing
origin. Both classes are discussed below. action (see examples in Fig. 39). This action can
Involutions are surficial manifestations of frost- also cause localized development of excess pore-
related stirring (cryoturbation) and are generally water pressure. Involutions frequently show effects
characterized by distortion and mixing of the of fluidization (Fig. 39B). Involutions very com-
uppermost meter or so of the ground. Ice-wedge monly have boundaries and convolute bedding
 S.F. Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76 59

Fig. 39. Examples from the Northeastern United States of ground disturbances associated with involutions. (A) Very large involution
of eohan sand penetrating down into glaciofluvial gavel. Involution extends about 1 m in depth. (B) Fluidized sand and gravel
penetrating upward into eolian silty sand. Note the similarity between these frost-induced involutions and dikes of seismic liquefaction
origin. Shovel handle is 50 cm long. Photographs courtesy of B.D. Stone.
60 S. F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
that point to a predominantly plastic mode of
deformation. Involutions can be especially abun-
dant where an eolian silty or fine sand deposit is
at the surface. Beneath the uppermost deposit,
sediment may range from gravel sized to silt sized
(see Fig. 39 herein; Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1988,
Fig. 11).
The morphological range of involutions is large.
Vandenberghe (1988, p. 182) listed six types in
terms of symmetry, amplitude-wavelength ratio,
and pattern of occurrence. The features range from
individual folds of small amplitude and large wave-
lengths (resembling slightly warped bedding caused
by earthquake shaking) to intensely convoluted
forms having amplitudes generally between 0.6
and 2 m (also resembling earthquake-induced con-
voluted bedding); load structures, diapirs, and
dikes are also common. The genesis of involutions
is probably related to three main process cate-
gories: load casting during melting, pressures in
water trapped between freezing fronts, and pres-
sures and heaving caused during freezing
(Vandenberghe, 1988).
Features caused by load casting during melting
(mainly bulbous downward intrusions and detach-
ments of sediment going into a host) are similar
in form to soft-sediment deformation features
described in a previous section. One important
difference, though, is that frost-related load fea-
tures are independent of the vertical lithological
composition of the sediment. Even lithologically
homogeneous sand can host load structures. Low-
density, organic-matter-rich sediments can also
sink into denser sand (Harry and Gozdzik, 1988,
pp. 48-49).
Permanently frozen ground beneath a zone of
thawing commonly leads to formation of involu-
tions along the contact. Involutions are also
thought to form as a result of high pressure in
water trapped between freezing fronts. Such a
pressure may develop between two impermeable
layers, in which the basal layer is permafrost and
the upper layer is the seasonal freezing front. Small
mud volcanoes (Shilts, 1978), as large as 3 m in
diameter, are thought to be caused by this process.
Different susceptibilities to frost heaving and ice
lensing may also explain some involutions. Small
differences in grain size may be significant.
In summary, many involutions are so similar
to earthquake-induced features that assigning
an unequivocal origin may not be possible.
Involutions commonly are associated with ground
patterned by freezing ("patterned ground") and
ice-wedge casts, however, and this association
helps in interpretation.
5.4.2. Ice-wedge casts
The types of features that are included in this
category are variously described as ice-wedge casts
(Black, 1976), ground-wedge pseudomorphs
(Harry and Gozdzik, 1988), or other names based
on morphological variations. All result from
ground cracking caused by contraction of frozen
ground. These contractions often fracture the
ground in a polygonal network, in plan view.
Wedges of ice then form in the cracked ground.
The ice wedges grow wider through time. Later,
when permafrost melts, host sediment slowly
replaces the melting ice. Eolian sediment may also
be blown into the depression.
Fig. 40 shows a vertical section of an ice-wedge
cast of a type commonly seen in the Northeastern
United States. The cast is the downward-pinching
body of sediment. It contains slump structures
that formed as sediment fell into or moved down
the fissure as ice melted. Upturned edges of strata
in the upper part of the host were formed by
horizontal pressures as the ice wedge grew in
width. The cast can have a width much exceeding
a meter and a depth of as much as 10 m (Flint,
1971). Commonly, though, in the Central and
Eastem United States, widths at the top are on
the order of 0.5-1 m and depths are 3-4 m (see
sketches in Johnson, 1990 and Stone and Ashley,
1992). Ice-wedge casts are common and wide-
spread in clean granular deposits such as glaci-
ofluvial sands and gravelly sands that have been
subjected to permafrost conditions (Svensson,
1988; an excellent photograph is in Flint, 1971,
p. 279). Casts are also widespread in glacial till
(Svensson, 1988; Johnson, 1990) but tend to be
more faintly delineated than those in clean granu-
lar deposits.
An earthquake-induced origin can be incorrectly
deduced for ice-wedge casts, especially in clean
granular deposits. However, with careful field
 S. F. Obermeier /Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1- 76 61

o 1 2m

liii!i!i!i !:ii EOUAN MANTLE

(cryoturbated)

~ ~ : : i~:: ~~i~i~ ~).~, .... FLUVIAL TERRACE

DEPOSITS

~,fine sand
and silt

1-1 ~ . "' \ . ~ - A ' ~ . " V " ".'.../"

.- ._h . ' . ' . ' . , " . .

. . . . . . . . . . , --i..c_~
, ".'.'.'.'.''.."..'.'''..

o a " . ". " x ' . ' ~

.~/-/.".~ ~:S, <"" ". :" ~ - gravel

. -. .- ., ? _ , , _ ~ ~: '' ~" ". "".o" 2 . ,, ~t

! ~!~:
oo . s. ." "." ~ ". " . . ' " ' ' . " . ".',

"..-7.
4.---.'-: .... ." '-'" '.'.. ". '-
. .~. .~....-7T7"-.
.... ..'.." ,:. "-=-~
. . ' . ~ , ~...-
. . . . - .-..,o
;.~
medium-coarse sand
(cross-bedded)
... .?.::." : : . . . . . '.... " - ~S-

:ii:;i.i.)il-".:"i.!:.:./.ii:~!).!-
...............~.....~?..: .....-.

:~..... ~.-.._~....
~!
" . :', .".: ' . .: . . . ; : i. - i "
PIT FLOOR
Fig. 40. Schematic vertical section of an ice-wedge cast showing upturned strata in the upper part of the host. Downturned strata
occur at greater depth. Within the cast are clasts from the sidewalls, and strata sag toward the middle. Small normal faults border
the walls of the host. Schematic drawing from Stone and Ashley (1992) represents relations commonly observed in the Northeastern
United States.

study, an earthquake hypothesis can be tested. the Northeastern United States show little or no
Field studies (Stone and Ashley, 1992) for the evidence of upturning of strata in host deposits.
example of Fig. 40 show that the uppermost meter The upturned deformation is probably destroyed
of the cast is composed of fine sand and silt, rather whenever the uppermost host material moves into
than sediment from depth vented to the surface; the void left by melting ice. Host material moves
the cast filling includes pebbles polished by wind by sloughing, creep, and localized normal faulting.
abrasion. Stone and Ashley also showed that air Strong vertical alignment of infilling sediment com-
photographs reveal a well-developed polygonal monly takes place, especially in narrow casts. This
network of the wedge structures in plan view. vertical alignment superficially resembles effects of
Therefore, evidence is very strong that the wedge upward flowing water, causing winnowing out of
structures were the result of permafrost. fine grains and fluidization. However, a liquefac-
Many ice-wedge casts in granular materials in tion origin is almost certainly eliminated if there
62 SF. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76

are no feeder dikes going from the host to sediment
in the cast.
Features in glaciofluvial deposits described by
Black (1976) as pseudo-ice-wedge casts (Fig. 41)
can very closely resemble ice-wedge casts. The
features probably develop as nearly vertical, open
tension fractures, which form in response to
any number of nonfrost-related mechanisms.
Possibilities include loss of lateral support or
differential settlement of underlying sediments.
Such mechanisms can occur thousands of years
after the host sediment was laid down. Simply
lowering the water table can cause large differential
settlements and crack the ground at places where
the glaciofluvial deposits are underlain by thick,
soft silts or clays.
6. Estimation of strength of paleo-earthquakes
The strength of paleo-earthquakes can be inter-
preted by using several independent techniques.
One such technique uses the very crude association
that exists between severity of shaking, as mea-
sured by the modified Mercalli intensity scale, and
the threshold for formation of liquefaction effects
and soft-sediment deformations such as pseu-
z/tension fra___cture
i ~\ /" L. . . . . . . . . .
....
. . . . .
~ ~\lJ I I t - . . . . . . . . . .
-'N \ / I
]\ ~tk. ..........
I \ "~'1
,~,, \ , f - - - -
I\\ [l
-~ ,\,~- . . . . . . . . . . .
t\ "~I
-.2.\d~-----___ ~--
_.~,__~-,,Y.,.~--
e e o e .,,,..~',//,I~ ~
-iN ............
Fig. 41. Schematicverticalsection of pseudo-ice-wedgecast of
Black(1976), probablycausedby tensionfracturingof ground.
Note downturnedbeddingin proximityto fracture.
donodules and small recumbent folds. A second
approach (magnitude-bound method), applicable
to field situations where the regional extent of
liquefaction from a paleo-earthquake can be esti-
mated, determines probable minimum magnitude.
A third method (engineering-based method of Seed
et al. (1983,1985)) places limits on the accelera-
tions that formed liquefaction features in many
field situations; magnitude is then assessed by
comparing these accelerations with estimates from
seismological models or from statistical analysis
of historical earthquakes. All three of these meth-
ods are discussed in the following sections.
Yet another engineering-based method that
shows great promise for paleoseismic analysis uses
an energy approach for assessing the likelihood of
liquefaction at a site (Law et al., 1990). Although
Pond (1996, in press) has used the energy approach
for analyzing paleoliquefaction effects, the results
of his analysis have not yet been published. Thus,
discussion of this method will be limited. The
energy method will likely be used frequently in the
future because it is inherently more accurate than
the method of Seed et al. (1983,1985) and, in
addition, circumvents some of the problems
implicit in that method.
A promising method based primarily on geology
would use dike width as a measure of the severity
of lateral spreading and thereby of the strength of
shaking. Such a method would be a variation of
the Liquefaction Severity Index (Youd and
Perkins, 1987) and its updated version (Bartlett
and Youd, 1992), which provides a quantitative
--~- estimate of the amount of lateral spreading as a
function of earthquake magnitude and distance
from the seismic energy source.
-- _ _
The methods discussed below for estimating
e e~ prehistoric earthquake magnitude all require locat-
ing the meizoseismal region. I suggest using a
regional pattern of maximum dike widths to
approximate this region. Where field data are
adequate, a preferable measure is the sum of dike
widths normalized to the amount of outcrop
(P.J. Munson, Indiana Univ., oral commun.,
1994). An excellent example of using dike widths
to approximate the location of the meizoseismal
region has been given by Munson et al. (1995).
Maximum dike width is used rather than dike
 S.F Obermeier/EngineeringGeology 44 (1996) 1-76
density because density generally is highly sensitive
to cap thickness (Ishihara, 1985; Obermeier, 1989).
The amount of lateral spreading, alternatively, is
so insensitive to cap thickness that it is not even
used as a parameter for the Liquefaction Severity
Index (Bartlett and Youd, 1992). Caution is appro-
priate when dike width is used as a measure of
shaking severity at places where prehistoric shak-
ing has been relatively weak and only relatively
small dikes (on the order of 0.3 m or less in width)
have formed. Such small dikes are likely to have
formed within 100 m of a stream bank or free
face. Along many major rivers, the lateral erosion
subsequent to a paleo-earthquake exceeds 100 m
within a few hundred to a thousand years and
removes many of the larger dikes that were near
the free face when the earthquake occurred.
Therefore, it may be necessary to sample enough
sites where erosion was probably not severe in
order to develop meaningful relations concerning
dike widths.
6.1. Method associating modified Mercalli intensity
with liquefaction
The modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) value is
a qualitative measure of earthquake-induced
damage (Wood and Neumann, 1931). The scale
ranges from I to XII, where I represents the level
at which shaking may be felt slightly and XII
represents total destruction. An MMI of about VI
is the threshold for widespread development of
small-scale soft-sediment deformation features
such as folds, pseudonodules, contorted lamin-
ations, and recumbent folds (Sims, 1975).
Although liquefaction effects have occurred at
MMI values as low as V and VI (Keefer, 1984),
the lowest intensity at which liquefaction-induced
features can become common is VII, provided that
highly susceptible deposits are present (National
Research Council, 1985, p. 34). Values of VIII-IX
are generally required before liquefaction-induced
ground failure becomes severe enough to cause
damage to buildings. A serious shortcoming of
using MMI values for paleoseismic interpretations
is the very crude association of ground-failure
effects with shaking severity. Still, very approxi-
mate limits can probably be placed on earthquake
63
magnitude by associating intensity values with the
regional extent of ground failure (Galli and
Ferreli, 1995).
6.2. Method associating magnitude with farthest
occurrence of liquefaction
Fig. 42 shows the distance from the epicenter to
the farthest observed liquefaction effect at the
ground surface (plan view), such as venting of
sand or ground fissuring, for earthquakes of
different magnitudes. The data are taken from
worldwide earthquakes in a wide variety of tectonic
and sedimentary settings. Liquefaction sites are
in thin to thick unconsolidated material.
Amplification of bedrock accelerations is probably
small where unconsolidated deposits are thin,
whereas amplification is probably as high as 2-2.5
at many places where deposits are thick (Idriss,
1990). Liquefaction susceptibility is doubtless very
high at many of the farthest sites. For earthquakes
having focal depths of less than 50 kin, the farthest
occurrences of liquefaction are bounded by a rea-
sonably well defined curve (Fig. 42). Therefore,
using the curve in the figure should provide a
minimum estimate of paleo-earthquake magnitude,
especially in regions where conditions are less than
optimal for the formation of liquefaction effects.
Using this figure is the magnitude-bound method.
The farthest sites of liquefaction effects on the
ground surface (in plan view) usually cannot be
found in a paleoliquefaction search (normally in
sectional view). However, if enough exposure is
searched in sectional view, it has been my experi-
ence that this farthest distance can be reasonably
approximated. A lower limit magnitude thus can
be established by using the plot in Fig. 42.
I cite two examples on the basis on my field
experience, one from the Charleston earthquake
of 1886 and the other from the New Madrid
earthquakes of 1811-1812. The regions of both
these earthquakes exhibit widespread moderate to
high liquefaction susceptibility and probable mod-
erate amplification of bedrock accelerations. Using
the farthest liquefaction effects observed
(90-100 km) at the time of the Charleston earth-
quake as a point on the curve of Fig. 42 yields an
estimated minimum moment magnitude (M) of
64 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76

10 10

9 ] 9

O i
,'- 8 e / 8

E
. . ; o

"." _..i_ .
e- 0
t~
,,, ~

6
/ 6
g" ~'g" r

..2
/
1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500

Epicentral distance (radius) to farthest liquefaction f e a t u r e (km)

EXPLANATION

Farthest liquefaction effects (sand

blows, fissures, and such) for
shallow-focus earthquakes
o Farthest liquefaction effect for
deep-focus earthquakes (>50 km)
/k Farthest sand blows reported for
1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes

Fig. 42. Relationship between earthquake moment magnitude (M) and distance from earthquake epicenter to the farthest liquefaction
effect (venting to the surface or ground fracturing), with bound suggested by Ambraseys (1988). Curve bounds data for earthquakes
worldwide that had focal depths < 50 krn. Also shown are data for earthquakes having depths > 50 km.

,,~6.8; actual magnitude was M ~ 7.5. I have found
small liquefaction features (unweathered dikes
extending almost to the surface) as far as 100 km
from the epicenter of the 1886 earthquake and
almost certainly caused by that earthquake. I have
also found liquefaction features (unweathered
dikes extending nearly to the surface) in widely
spaced regions as far as 250-275 km from the
epicenter of the New Madrid M~8.3 event.
Farthest surficial effects observed in these widely
spaced regions in 1811-1812 were at the same
distances. Using Fig. 42 yields M = 7.5-7.7. These
findings suggest that there should be an abundance
of dikes that pinch together only slightly below
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 65

the ground surface in the region where effects of 0.5 i i I

liquefaction were observed at the surface at the

time of the earthquake and that some of these
dikes could be found in a search for liquefaction
features. (Small, pinching-up dikes that do not
approach the surface may extend much further
from the meizoseismal region than do dikes that
_O

LU
n"

~"
0.4

0.3
///III
./ / t

approach the surface.) In summary, my fieldwork 0

>-
in the areas of the two earthquakes above, which 0

was based on farthest discovered paleoliquefaction 9 0.2

uJ
,'-r
features that approach the ground surface (within
1-2 m), indicates that the estimates of magnitude
obtained from Fig. 42 are not outrageously lower
than actual values, if field conditions are favorable
for liquefaction. I I I
The curve in Fig. 42 sometimes can be adjusted 0 10 20 3O 40
in regions of historical liquefaction to account for MODIFIED PENETRATION RESISTANCE N 1,
the influence of local setting on the farthest devel- iN BLOWS PER FOOT

opment of liquefaction effects, as Obermeier et al.

(1993) have done. The prehistoric magnitude can
probably be assessed more accurately if the caus-
ative fault can be located. Curves relating farthest
liquefaction effects to distance from the fault rup-
ture zone have been given by Bartlett and Youd
(1992, Section 4).
6.3. Method of Seed et al. associating acceleration
with liquefaction
Use of the Seed et al. (1983,1985) method avoids
the problem with the magnitude-bound method of
not being able to locate the distal effects of lique-
faction. The Seed et al. method was developed to
provide engineers with a way of estimating the
shaking threshold required to produce surface
manifestations of liquefaction during future earth-
quakes (Fig. 43). The method can be adapted to
paleoseismic studies. The method is based on
worldwide observations following many earth-
quakes, supplemented by extensive laboratory
studies. The curves in Fig. 43 are not intended to
indicate whether any very minor liquefaction at
depth occurs (such as the liquefaction of an iso-
lated thin sand bed); rather, the curves predict
where liquefaction is severe enough to produce
scattered occurrences of limited venting or small
ground openings (several centimeters) at the sur-
face. The method applies to level ground condi-
EXPLANATION
1;h avg Average earthquake-induced horizontal
cyclic shear stress.
t~6 Initial vertical effective overburden stress.
N1 Standard Penetration Test blow count
measured in field, modified to blow count
resistance at vertical effective stress
of 1 ton/ft2 (97.5 k Pa).
Fig. 43. Curves for the method of Seed et al. (1983) used to
evaluate the potential occurrence of liquefaction with accompa-
nying venting of sand or appreciable ground cracks at a site on
level ground. Curves are for dean sand deposits (average grain
diameter >0.25 ram) and for different earthquake magnitudes
(5.25-8.5); M is Richter magnitude ML or surface-wave magni-
tude M,, whichever is larger. Points above and to the left of
curves show conditions having high potential for liquefaction.
tions only. Sites of large lateral spreads, especially
near free faces, should be excluded because of the
possibility of enhanced ground breakage accompa-
nied by copious venting.
To use Fig. 43, the relative density of source
deposits must be evaluated in place by means of
the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) blow-count
method (Table 1). An adjusted SPT blow-count
value (the N1 value of Fig. 43, which is the value
corrected for site conditions of depth to the water
table and static stress conditions of the source
stratum) is then related to the shaking required to
66 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
cause venting. Fig. 43 shows the boundary curves
for different earthquake magnitudes. The curves
relate the N1 value in clean sands to the field cyclic
stress ratio, which, for an element in the sand
layer, is the ratio of the average earthquake-
induced horizontal cyclic shear stress ('l~h avg) to
the vertical static effective stress (eye). The field
cyclic stress ratio due to earthquake shaking is
computed from the following equation (Seed et al.,
1983):
Zh avg/tr'o = ( 0.65amaxaor d)/( tr'og)
where amax is the peak horizontal acceleration
at the ground surface, c~o is the total overburden
stress on the sand under consideration, g~ is the
initial effective overburden stress (total stress
minus pore-water pressure) on the sand layer under
consideration, r d is the stress reduction factor
(ranging from a value of 1 at the ground surface
to a value near 0.9 at a depth of about l0 m), and
g is the acceleration due to gravity. The various
magnitude curves in Fig. 43 are based on the
premise that the expected duration (that is, the
number of cycles) of strong shaking becomes
longer as magnitude increases.
The locations of the curves in Fig. 43 were
picked partly by judgment. Liao et al. (1988) have
used statistical regression methods to assess the
probability of liquefaction for the curves. Their
results are shown in Fig. 44, normalized in terms
of magnitude. Although Liao et al. results basically
agree with the trend of the Seed et al. curves,
Fig. 44 shows some noteworthy differences. In
clean sand deposits, the Liao et al. 50% probability
curve lies almost everywhere above the Seed et al.
curve. This difference is understandable in terms
of the original intent of Seed et al. to use the curve
for engineering design. If, however, the intent is
to reverse the process to calculate the maximum
ground acceleration that probably occurred at a
paleotiquefaction site, then the engineering conser-
vatism in the Seed et al. curve could lead to an
acceleration value that may be too low.
Whether acceleration values obtained from the
Seed et al. curves are too low depends on the
constraints on liquefaction and venting at the site,
and these constraints depend very much on factors
such as cap thickness, strength of the cap, and
depth to the water table. If all factors are favorable,
the Seed et al. curves probably provide a reason-
able assessment for paleoseismic calculations at
sites where only minor venting or ground breakage
occurred. Favorable conditions would include a
cap thickness of less than a few meters (Ishihara,
1985; Obermeier, 1989; Youd and Garris, 1995),
a water table within a few meters of the surface,
and a cap that is not greatly strengthened by a
mat of roots. At sites where liquefaction is mar-
ginal, it is likely that the blow-count N-values of
the source bed have not been changed substantially
by the occurrence of liquefaction. Paleoseismic
calculations should not be made at sites where
severe paleoliquefaction took place, because these
sites can yield only estimates of minimum shaking
levels. Severe liquefaction can be indicated by large
sand blows or a strong warping of the cap. Sites
of wide lateral spreads, especially near free faces,
should not be used with the curves in Fig. 43,
because these sites can yield acceleration values
that are too low.
The curves in Figs. 43 and 44 do not account
fully for field conditions that are not conducive to
venting, such as the presence of a very thick cap
or a mat of peat in the cap. Eliminating sites
having these unfavorable conditions would likely
increase the probability of liquefaction. A miscon-
ception among many geologists is that the strength
of clay in the cap has a major bearing on whether
venting occurs. However, the pore-water pressure
that develops because of liquefaction along the
base of the cap normally greatly exceeds the tensile
strength of the sediment in the cap; any extensive
liquefaction thus should be adequate for hydraulic
fracturing of the cap, and dikes should form. Even
where the cap is very soft, field observations show
that brittle fracturing almost always occurs rather
than only formation of plastic intrusions.
Fig. 43 can be modified to account for the fact
that a high content of silt and clay in source
sediment diminishes the effects of liquefaction.
Fig. 44B shows the effect of silt and clay according
to the statistical analysis of Liao et al. (1988).
Liao et al. noted that their results do not indicate
a major difference between sediments containing
15% silt and clay and those containing 35%, a
difference that Seed et al. (1985) would imply. The
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76 67

I I I I I I I I
_o A B
Prbability\.9 5 .1 35%
n 0.5 .9 15%5 .1
u~
.
.Q6,~efe/,
._~ 0.4 ~'.,"~,oF,?~. /
IIi;. IO~ .

q / :'~'~;o; ~ ,o;~ ,% /
w
,"r 8.3

/
~ 0.2 //
0
z
Seed et al. 119851,
I 11985)
~ o.1
~ c lUy cNontfr nS~It ~o d curves o;ailt anci
z clay content = 15%
end 35%
<
/
/
0.0 i I I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 4O 10 20 30 40
NORMALIZED (N116o, BLOWS PER FOOT NORMALIZED (N1160, BLOWS PER FOOT

Fig. 44. Probability of liquefaction with accompanying venting or appreciable ground cracking, normalized to blow-count value,
magnitude, and field cyclic stress ratio. (A) Curves for sediment having silt and clay content of < 5%. (B) Curves for sediment having
silt and clay contents of 15 and 35%. From Liao et al. (1988). (N1)6o blow-count value corresponds to a rod energy value of 60%
being transmitted from the hammer to the end of the rod (National Research Council, 1985, pp. 98-99). Earthquake magnitudes
are the same as those in Fig. 43.

reliability of the curves in Fig. 44B is not high,
however, because of the paucity of good data,
especially at high values of cyclic stress ratio
(Youd, 1996a, in press).
Liao et al. have provided a sound mathematical
method for evaluating Seed et al. procedure in
terms of probability. A larger data base having
better estimates of earthquake magnitudes was
used by Loertscher and Youd (1994) to update
the mathematical analysis. Results of a very recent
conference show that the procedures of both Seed
et al. and Liao et al. need to be adjusted to better
account for the influence of earthquake magnitude
at magnitudes of less than about 7.5 (Youd, 1996b,
in press).
To use the method of Seed et al. for estimating
the strength of paleoseismic shaking, bounds must
be placed on depth to the water table at the time
of an earthquake. Maximum depth to the water
table sometimes can be bracketed by observing the
highest regional level at which dikes cut the base
of the cap. The water level likely was at least that
high; if the water level had been much lower,
excess pore-water pressure probably would have
been dissipated into granular, permeable sediment
along the base of the cap.
Earthquake shaking can increase the SPT blow
count (N1 value) of a source stratum (generally by
a small amount) even if the shaking is not strong
enough to cause liquefaction (Castro, 1987). An
occurrence of severe liquefaction may significantly
increase the blow count of the source stratum (see
data of Kawakami and Asada, 1966, Fig. 4;
Chameau et al., 1991, Figs. 4, 6); it is not known
how severe liquefaction must be to cause a signifi-
cant change or what field settings are conducive
to such a change. Alternatively, sites showing field
evidence of strong liquefaction may not show
evidence of measurable changes in the source
stratum (T.L. Holzer, US Geological Survey, writ-
ten commun., 1994). At sites where liquefaction
effects have been marginal, however, changes
caused by an occurrence of liquefaction are likely
to be small. Even this hypothesis should be tested
where possible. In some geographic regions, a
sense of likely changes may be obtained by statis-
tically comparing blow counts in sediments that
predate an earthquake with those in sediments
68 S.F. Obermeier/Engmeering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
that postdate it. Liquefaction during a paleo-
earthquake is likely to have been most severe at
sites where blow counts are lowest. Large differ-
ences between the lowest blow counts in pre-
earthquake sediments and those in post-earth-
quake sediments could indicate changes caused by
liquefaction.
A common practice among research engineers
is to make penetration (SPT) borings near a site
of venting following an earthquake; data from
these borings are used to estimate the properties
of the sediment that liquefied, and these properties
are then used as data for Seed et al. method (for
example, Fear and McRoberts, 1995). This prac-
tice fails to recognize that there are many field
situations where venting could have developed
from a sill that extended laterally for tens of meters
from the source sediment. (Examples of such
sills (Fig. 22) were discussed in the section
"Characterization of Sills in Sectional View" with
regard to the 1811-1812 New Madrid earth-
quakes.) As a result of this engineering practice,
the penetration resistance of a source bed may be
overestimated. Geological examination of tube
samples near a venting site in combination with
more widespread penetration testing around the
vent might indicate whether venting occurred from
a sill or a steeply dipping dike and thereby indicate
the location of the source bed.
The discussion above has focused on using SPT
blow counts for evaluating liquefaction potential.
Use of the SPT procedure for this purpose is
extremely common but in the near future will
likely be supplanted by use of the cone penetrome-
ter, which can determine sediment properties con-
tinuously through depth. A continuous record
would also allow better estimates for paleoseismic
analysis.
6.4. Overview of methods for estimating magnitude
The curves shown in Figs. 43 and 44 for the
method of Seed et al. (1983,1985) do not yield a
unique solution for both acceleration and magni-
tude; only possible combinations can be deter-
mined. Any estimate of magnitude made by using
the curves should be compared with estimates of
accelerations from seismological models or histori-
cal data. Comparisons should be made at various
epicentral distances for a prehistoric earthquake.
Wherever possible, an estimate of magnitude
should also be based on the observed areal distri-
bution of paleoliquefaction features (i.e., the mag-
nitude-bound method).
Factors that control the regional extent (span)
and sizes of liquefaction features include liquefac-
tion susceptibility and amplification of bedrock
shaking, as well as seismological factors such as
focal depth and shaking frequency of the earth-
quake and stress change (drop) in the rock of the
rupture zone at the time of the earthquake.
Possible shaking characteristics are myriad. A shal-
low hypocentral depth can cause more severe
shaking in the meizoseismal area than a deeper
earthquake. Away from the meizoseismal area,
however, shaking may be less severe for a shallower
earthquake than for a deeper one. A high stress
drop should cause accelerations to be high both
in the meizoseismal area and far away. Clearly,
any interpretation of prehistoric magnitude needs
to be calibrated as much as possible to the local
tectonic setting in order to select the most reason-
able parameters.
Neither the magnitude-bound method nor the
method of Seed et al. (1983,1985) automatically
accounts for some factors that control the regional
extent of liquefaction. Peak accelerations, for
example, are strongly related to stress drop (Hanks
and Johnston, 1992, Eq. 6). An exceptionally high
stress drop, however, implies strong shaking of
short duration. Liquefaction is controlled mainly
by acceleration and duration of strong shaking.
Where liquefaction is concerned, a high stress drop
is likely to be largely offset by strong shaking of
low duration, and vice-versa. This offset probably
prevents estimates of prehistoric magnitude from
being greatly in error, although this theory has
not yet been evaluated rigorously.
Some inherent shortcomings in Seed et al.
method for evaluating liquefaction susceptibility
have been discussed by Law et al. (1990). The
shortcomings are due mainly to the fact that the
peak accelerations of Seed et al. method do not
always correspond with the earthquake energy that
causes shaking at a site, which Law et al. have
shown to be a more fundamental and accurate
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
parameter for evaluating whether liquefaction
should occur. Specific deficiencies of Seed et al.
method are that (1) the peak horizontal accelera-
tion in one direction does not always reflect the
amount of energy acting on a point, and (2) the
peak horizontal acceleration does not reflect what
is happening in all vibration frequencies. In addi-
tion, the peak horizontal acceleration may relate
poorly to shear strain, which is the physical mecha-
nism that breaks down grain-to-grain contacts and
leads to liquefaction. This poor correspondence
may be important in situations where surface
shaking is dominated by very low vibration fre-
quencies and large shear strains but low accelera-
tions. This situation could possibly occur where
very thick (on the order of a kilometer?), unconsol-
idated sediments dampen out high-frequency
vibrations as they pass upward. Alternatively,
severe dampening seems unlikely for lower-fre-
quency vibrations (less than about 10 cycles
per second) that largely control field occurrences
of liquefaction (Martin Chapman, seismologist,
Virginia Polytechnical Institute, oral commun.,
1996).
A problem occurs in trying to use Seed et al.
method for paleoseismic analysis because it
requires selection of marginal liquefaction sites.
Any selection process is by nature rather sub-
jective. Also, identifying the source bed that lique-
fied is sometimes difficult or impossible. These
issues as they relate to paleoseismic analysis have
been discussed in more depth by Obermeier (1995).
A procedure for using Law et al. energy method
of for paleoseismic analysis has been developed by
Pond (1996, in press). Pond's approach is first to
assume the magnitude of a prehistoric earthquake
and then to apply the energy method to that
magnitude to select the most compact sediment
(that is, highest N1 value) that should have lique-
fied at a specific site. Field geotechnical data (SPT
data, for example) are then examined at a paleoliq-
uefaction site in order to determine whether lique-
faction should have occurred there. This procedure
is repeated at paleoliquefaction sites located at
various distances from the epicenter. Highest NI
values at the various sites are then used with the
Seed et al. curves, such as those shown in Fig. 43,
to estimate peak accelerations at different distances
69
from the epicenter. These peak accelerations are
then compared with seismological estimates of
peak acceleration versus epicentral distance for an
earthquake of that magnitude. It should be noted
that Pond examined data from six historical
worldwide earthquakes and found that his method
works well for predicting sites that exhibit no
liquefaction effects.
The analysis of prehistoric liquefaction features
centered about Charleston, S.C., previously pre-
sented, implicitly accounts for all the factors con-
trolling liquefaction noted above (earthquake
shaking characteristics, local tectonic situation,
sediment propreties, etc.). I concluded that some
prehistoric earthquakes near Charleston were at
least equal in strength to the 1886 earthquake
(M~7.5). Seismological factors were indirectly
considered by showing that the size and span of
features predating 1886 exceeded those of the 1886
features, both in the meizoseismal region of the
1886 earthquake and far away. In addition, the
fact that features that predate 1886 are more
abundant and larger near Charleston than they
are elsewhere helped to define the region of strong-
est shaking.
The South Carolina example, where one can
compare historical and prehistoric liquefaction
effects to estimate past earthquake magnitudes, is
exceptional. In most places, such extensive histori-
cal liquefaction data from a very strong earthquake
do not exist for prehistoric earthquakes. Estimates
of magnitudes elsewhere must be based on other
approaches. One such approach was used for
analyzing liquefaction features in the Wabash
Valley (Obermeier et al., 1993). Historical liquefac-
tion-producing earthquakes in 1811-1812 and
1895 occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone,
about 100 km southwest of the Wabash Valley.
Because the seismotectonic settings of the two
areas are likely similar, the factors of hypocentral
depth, stress drop, and frequency characteristics
can be assumed to be similar as a first approxima-
tion. The geological and ground-water settings
(which control liquefaction) are also similar at the
sites of historical liquefaction and in the Wabash
Valley. Accounting for differences in the amplifi-
cation of bedrock shaking permitted definition of
70 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
a curve parallel to the bound in Fig. 42 and thereby
an estimate of magnitude.
6.5. Conduct of field search
The absence of liquefaction features (negative
evidence) also plays an important role in assessing
prehistoric earthquakes. If depth to the water table
can be established through time and the suscepti-
bility of potential source deposits can be estimated,
the lack of liquefaction effects can be used to place
limits on the maximum levels of prehistoric ground
shaking. Still, there is no well-defined procedure
for determining the amount of outcrop that must
be searched for liquefaction features in order to
support a conclusion based on negative evidence.
Some uncertainty arises because strong shaking
probably attenuates from the energy source as a
somewhat variable (stochastic) function rather
than in a smooth manner. Many observations of
ground-failure effects and damage to buildings
show that large variations in ground response
probably are commonplace within both short and
long distances from the meizoseismal area. These
variations often have no readily identifiable basis.
Similarly, both the size and the abundance of
liquefaction-induced features can vary widely
within a local area. For example, in the meizoseis-
mal area of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earth-
quakes, a given length of outcrop may contain
hundreds of dikes and sills of all sizes. Yet, in an
outcrop of the same length nearby, where condi-
tions for liquefaction appear to be about the same,
features may be fewer by an order of magnitude.
Any search for paleoliquefaction features should
take into account the fact that dikes generally
develop in response to lateral spreading much
more readily than they do from hydraulic fractur-
ing and surface oscillations. In many areas where
seismic shaking levels have been as high as MMI
VIII or IX, almost all dikes probably formed by
lateral spreading. Lateral spreading at these inten-
sity levels can be restricted to within a few hundred
meters of a stream bank or topographic depression
in field settings where the liquefaction susceptibility
is not high. Dikes may not develop at all or be
rare at greater distances.
Dike development as a result of hydraulic frac-
turing or surface oscillations can be greatly
restricted where cap thickness exceeds 5 m, even
in sediments of moderate susceptibility within the
meizoseismal region of a very large earthquake.
Optimal cap thickness is generally about 2-4 m.
Development of even very small dikes may be
suppressed along the base of a cap that extends to
too great a depth. In areas of suppressed dike
development, however, sills as thick as 10 cm may
form along the base of the cap and provide evi-
dence of seismic liquefaction.
Where source sediment may have been only
moderately susceptible to liquefaction through
time, I suggest that it may be necessary to search
10 km or more of exposure in order to find effects
of accelerations as low as 0.1-0.2xg. The field
setting should also be evaluated to ascertain
whether the exposures were favorably situated for
the development of dikes through time. A field
search ideally should permit the observation of
many places where the base of a fine-grained cap
lies on thick liquefiable sand. Such a search is best
done when the water table is very low. Even small
dikes and sills can be discovered in this way.
In searching for paleoliquefaction features, one
should keep in mind that correlations often exist
between maximum dike width, abundance of dikes,
severity of venting, and severity of ground warping
in a localized area (Youd and Perkins, 1987,
Table 4). All these parameters can be of value in
defining the epicentral region of a prehistoric earth-
quake. In my experience, however, there are some
field situations where the relationships described
by Youd and Perkins do not seem to apply.
Whether their relationships apply likely depends
on the existence of a very shallow ground-water
table. In addition, the lack of consistent relation-
ships may result from many other independent
factors controlling liquefaction effects. These
factors vary greatly in origin and include the nature
of seismic shaking as well as sediment and site
characteristics.
Walsh et al. (1995, p. 1) have advocated using
a statistical procedure to determine whether the
widest dikes have been located in a search for
paleoliquefaction effects. The procedure is
intended to determine whether the widest dikes
have been discovered. (Walsh et al. (1995) also
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
mistakenly cite me as advocating that m a x i m u m
dike widths can be relied on to determine earth-
quake magnitude.) A l t h o u g h their statistical pro-
cedure is m o s t likely valid in m a n y places, I have
observed so m a n y exceptions that I have no great
confidence in using their m e t h o d alone. Instead, I
suggest using other approaches in addition to their
method. I r e c o m m e n d searching as wide an area
as possible and observing the severity o f venting
and g r o u n d warping a n d the thickness o f cap
penetrated by dikes at locales far f r o m free faces,
as well as measuring dike widths (e.g., Obermeier,
1995). Estimates o f m a x i m u m dike widths should
also depend o n whether the exposures are in field
settings that were conducive to the f o r m a t i o n o f
wide dikes at the time o f the earthquake.
Acknowledgment
F u n d i n g for the research required for this article
was provided by grants f r o m the U S Nuclear
R e g u l a t o r y C o m m i s s i o n and the N a t i o n a l H a z a r d s
Reduction P r o g r a m o f the U S Geological Survey.
Various parts o f the manuscript received con-
structive reviews f r o m J o h n Sims, A l a n Nelson,
T o m Holzer, and Eugene Schweig o f the U S
Geological Survey, f r o m T. Leslie Y o u d o f
Brigham Y o u n g University, f r o m Eric P o n d and
M a r t i n C h a p m a n o f Virginia Polytechnical
Institute, and f r o m S.S.C. Liao o f Parsons
Brinkerhoff, Inc. Careful editing by Elizabeth
G o o d m u c h sharpened the clarity o f thought.
References
Adams, J., 1982. Deformed lake sediments record prehistoric
earthquakes during the degiaciation of the Canadian Shield
(abstr.) Eos, 63(18): 436.
Adams, J., 1990. Paleoseismicity of the Cascadia subduction
zone; Evidence from turbidites off the Oregon-Washington
margin. Tectonics, 9(4): 569-583.
Allen, J.R.L., 1982. Sedimentary Structures - Their Character
and Physical Basis. Amsterdam, Elsevier, Vol. 2:663 pp.
Allen, J.R.L. and Banks, N.L., 1972. An interpretation and
analysis of recumbent folded deformed cross-bedding. Sedi-
mentology, 19: 257-283.
Ambraseys, N.N., 1988. Engineering seismology. Earthquake
Eng. Structural Dynamics, 17: 1-105.
71
American Society for Testing and Materials, 1978. Designation
D 1586-67 (reapproved 1974), Standard method for penetra-
tion test and split barrel sampling of soils, part 19 of Annual
book of ASTM standards: Philadelphia, PA, pp. 235-237.
Amick, D. and Gelinas, R., 1991. The search for evidence of
large prehistoric earthquakes along the Atlantic seaboard.
Science, 251(4994): 655-658.
Amick, D., Gelinas, R., Maurath, G., Cannon, R., Moore, D.,
Billington, E. and Kemppinen, H., 1990. Paleoliquefaction
features along the Atlantic seaboard. US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission Report NUREG CR-5613, 146 pp.
Andrus, R.D., Stokoe, K.H. and Roesset, J.M., 1991. Liquefac-
tion of gravelly soil at Pence Ranch during the 1983 Borah
Peak, Idaho earthquake. Proceedings of the Fifth Interna-
tional Conference on Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engi-
neering, Karlsruhe, Germany, pp. 251-262.
Andrus, R.D. and Youd, T.L., 1987. Subsurface investigation
of a liquefaction-induced lateral spread, Thousand Springs
Valley, Idaho. US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment
Station Miscellaneous Paper GL-87-8, 132 pp.
Atwater, B.F., 1987. Evidence for great Holocene earthquakes
along the outer coast of Washington State. Science,
236(4804): 942-944.
Atwater, B.F., 1992. Geologic evidence for earthquakes during
the past 2,000 years along the Copalis River, southern coastal
Washington. J. Geophys. Res., 97(B2): 1901-1919.
Audemard, F.A. and de Santis, F., 1991. Survey of liquefaction
structures induced by recent moderate earthquakes. Bull. Int.
Assoc. Eng. Geol., 44: 5-16.
Bartlett, S.F. and Youd, T.L., 1992. Empirical analysis of hori-
zontal ground displacement generated by liquefaction-
induced lateral spreads. State University of New York at
Buffalo, National Center for Earthquake Engineering
Research, Technical Report NCEER-92-0021, variously
paged.
Bennett, M.J., 1984. Quaternary geology of ground failure sites
in Long Valley and Little Antelope Valley, in Sint.z, J.
(Editor), Western geological excursions - (Guidebook for
field trips at the) 1984 Annual Meeting of the Geological
Society of America, Reno, Vol. 2: pp. 67-72.
Berg, A.W., 1990. Formation of Mima mounds; A seismic
hypothesis. Geology, 18(3): 281-284.
Black, R.F., 1976. Perigiacial features indicative of permafrost;
ice and soil wedges. Quaternary Res., 6: 3-26.
Brodzikowski, K., Haluszczak, A., Krzyszkowski, D. and van
Loon, A.J., 1987. Genesis and diagnostic value of large-scale
gravity-induced penecontemporaneous deformation hori-
zons in Quaternary sediments of the Kleszczow Graben
(central Poland). In M.E. Jones and M.F. Preston (Editors),
Deformation of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Geologi-
cal Society (of London) Special Publication 29, pp. 287-298.
Castro, G., 1987. On the behavior of soils during earthquakes
- Liquefaction. In A.S. Cakmak (Editor), Soil dynamics and
liquefaction. New York, Elsevier, pp. 169-204.
Chameau, J.L., Clough, G.W., Reyna, F. and Frost, J.D., 1991.
Liquefaction response of San Francisco bayshore fills.
Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull., 81 (5): 1998-2018.
72 S.F. Oberrneier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Cita, M.B. and Lucchi, F.R. (Editors), 1984. Special Issue,
Seismicity and sedimentation. Marine Geol., 55(1 and 2):
151.
Clague, J.J., Naesgaard, E. and Sy, A., 1992. Liquefaction fea-
tures on the Fraser delta; Evidence for prehistoric earth-
quakes? Can. J. Earth Sci., 29(8): 1734-1745.
Coleman, J.M. and Prior, D.B., 1980. Deltaic sand bodies.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Continuing
Education Course Note Series no. 15, 171 pp.
Daniels, R.B., Nettteton, W.D., McCracken, R.J. and Gamble,
E.E., 1966. Morphology of soils with fragipans in parts of
Wilson County, North Carolina. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.,
30: 376-380.
Darienzo, M.E. and Peterson, C.D., 1990. Episodic tectonic
subsidence of late Holocene salt marshes, northern Oregon
central Cascadia margin. Tectonics, 9( 1): 1-22.
Dickenson, S.E., Obermeier, S.F. and Roberts, T.H., 1994.
Constraints on earthquake shaking in the lower Columbia
River region of Washington and Oregon, during late Holo-
cene time, in Proceedings of the Fifth US National Confer-
ence on Earthquake Engineering at Chicago, Illinois.
Earthquake Eng. Res. Inst. El Cerrito, CA, 3: 313-322.
Dobry, R., 1989, Some basic aspects of soil liquefaction during
earthquakes. In K.H. Jacob and C.J. Turkstra (Editors),
Earthquake Hazards and the Design of Constructed Facili-
ties in the Eastern United States. Ann. NY Acad. Sci.,
558, 172-182.
Dobry, R. and Liu, L., 1992. Centrifuge modelling of soil lique-
faction. Proceedings of the Tenth World Conference on
Earthquake Engineering, Madrid, Vol. 11: pp. 6801-6809,
Doig, R., 1986. A method for determining the frequency of
large-magnitude earthquakes using lake sediments. Can.
J. Earth Sci., 23(7): 930-937.
Dutton, C.E., 1889. The Charleston earthquake of August
31(1886): US Geological Survey Ninth Annual Report
1887-88, pp. 203-528.
Dzulynski, S. and Walton, E.K., 1965. Sedimentary Features
of Flysch and Greywackes. Elsevier, New York, 274 pp.
Einsele, G., Ricken, W. and Seilacher, A. (Editors), 1991.
Cycles and events in stratigraphy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin,
955 pp.
Elgamal, A-W.M., Amer, M. and Adalier, K., 1993. Liquefac-
tion during the October 12, 1992 Egyptian Dahshure earth-
quake. In S. Prakash (Editor), Third International
Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering,
St. Louis, Mo., June 1-6, 1993. Rolla, University of Missouri
at Rolla, Vol. 3: p. 8.
Elgamal, A.-W.M., Dobry, R. and Adalier, K., 1989. Study of
effect of clay layers on liquefaction of sand using small-scale
models. In T.D. O'Rourke and M. Hamada (Editors), Pro-
ceedings from the Second US-Japan Workshop on Liquefac-
tion, Large Ground Deformation and Their Effects on
Lifelines. State University of New York at Buffalo, National
Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, Technical
Report NCEER-89-0032, pp. 233-245.
Fear, C.E. and McRoberts, E.C., 1995. Reconsideration of initi-
ation of liquefaction in sandy soils. J. Geotech. Eng., Am.
Soc. Civil Engineers, 121(3): 249 261.
Fiegel, G.L. and Kutter, B.L., 1994. Liquefaction mechanism
for layered soils. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers,
120(4): 737 755.
Finn, W.D.L., Ledbetter, R.H. and Wu, G., 1994. Liquefaction
in silty soils. In S. Prakash and P. Dakoulas (Editors),
Ground failures under seismic conditions. Am. Soc. Civil
Engineers Geotechnical Special Publication 44, pp. 51-76.
Flint, R.F., 1971. Glacial and Quaternary geology. Wiley and
Sons, New York, 892 pp.
Fuller, M.L., 1912. The New Madrid earthquake. US Geol.
Surv. Bull., 494: 119.
Galli, P. and Ferreli, L., 1995. A methodological approach for
historical liquefaction research. In L. Serva and D.B. Slem-
mons (Editors), Perspectives in Paleoseismology (for Italy).
Assoc. Eng. Geologists Special Publication 6, pp. 35 49.
Gamble, E.E., 1965. Origin and morphogenetic relations of
sandy surficial horizons of upper Coastal Plain soils of North
Carolina. Raleigh, NC, North Carolina State University,
Ph.D. thesis, 254 pp.
Gelinas, R.L., 1986. Mineral alterations as a guide to the age
of sediments vented by prehistoric earthquakes in the vicinity
of Charleston, South Carolina. Chapel Hill, NC, Univer-
sity of North Carolina, M.S. thesis, 304 pp.
Geomatrix Consultants, 1995. Seismic design mapping, State of
Oregon; report prepared for Oregon Department of Trans-
portation under contract 11688. San Francisco, variously
paged.
Hamada, M., Yasuda, S., Isoyama, R. and Emoto, K., 1986.
Study on liquefaction induced permanent ground displace-
ments. Tokyo, Association for the Development of Earth-
quake Prediction in Japan.
Hamilton, R.M. and Johnston, A.C. (Editors), 1990. Tecum-
seh's prophecy - Preparing for the next New Madrid earth-
quake. US Geological Survey Circular 1066: 30.
Hanks, T.C. and Johnston, A.C., 1992. Common features of
the excitation and propogation of strong ground motion for
North American earthquakes. Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull.,
82(1):1 23.
Harry, D.G. and Gozdzik, J.S., 1988. Ice wedges; growth, thaw
transformation, and palaeoenvironmental significance.
J. Quaternary Sci., 3(1): 39 55.
Housner, G.W., 1958. The mechanism of sandblows. Seismol.
Soc. Am. Bull., 48: 155-161.
Hyndman, R.D. and Wang, K., 1993. Thermal constraints on
the zone of major thrust earthquake failure; The Cascadia
subduction zone. J. Geophys. Res., 98(B2): 2039-2060.
ldriss, I.M., 1990. Response of soft soil sites during earth-
quakes, in H. Bolton Seed Memorial Symposium Proceed-
ings. Vancouver, B.C., Canada, BiTech Publishers, Ltd.,
Vol. 2: pp. 273-289.
Ishihara, K., 1985. Stability of natural soil deposits during
earthquakes. Proceedings of the Eleventh International Con-
ference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, San
Francisco, Vol. 1: pp. 321-376.
 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Iwasaki, T., 1986, Soil liquefaction studies in Japan, State of
the art. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Eng., 5 (1): 2-68.
Jibson, R.W. and Keefer, D.K., 1988. Landslides triggered by
earthquakes in the Central Mississippi Valley, Tennessee and
Kentucky. US Geological Survey Professional Paper
1336-C, 24 pp.
Jibson, R.W. and Keefer, D.K., 1989. Statistical analysis of
factors affecting landslide distribution in the New Madrid
seismic zone, Tennessee and Kentucky. Eng. Geol., 27:
509-542.
Jibson, R.W. and Keefer, D.K., 1993. Analysis of the seismic
origin of landslides; Examples from the New Madrid seismic
zone. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 105(4): 521-536.
Johnson, W.H., 1990. Ice-wedge casts and relict patterned
ground in central Illinois and their environmental signifi-
cance. Quaternary Res., 33(1): 51-72.
Johnston, A.C., 1994. The stable continental region earthquake
data base. In J.F. Schneider (Editor), The Earthquakes of
Stable Continental Regions: Assessment of Large Earth-
quake Potential. Palo Alto, CA, Electric Power Research
Institute, Report TR-102261, ch. 3, pp. 1-80.
Jones, M.E. and Preston, M.F. (Editors), 1987. Deformation
of sediments and sedimentary rocks: Geological Society (of
London) Special Publication 29, 350 pp.
Karlsrud, K., Aas, G. and Gregersen, O., 1984. Can we predict
landslide hazards in soft sensitive clays? Summary of Norwe-
gian practices and experiences. Fourth International Sympo-
sium on Landslides, Toronto (Proceedings), Vol. 1:
pp. 107-130.
Katayama, S., Fujii, T. and Takahashi, Y., 1966. Damage
caused by the Niigata earthquake and the geological features
of National Highway in the suburbs of Niigata City. Soils
and Foundations, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 1: 54-70.
Kawakami, F. and Asada, A., 1966. Damage to the ground and
earth structures by the Niigata earthquake of June 16, 1964.
Soils and Foundations, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 1: 14-30.
Keefer, D.K., 1984. Landslides caused by earthquakes. Geol.
Soc. Am. Bull., 95(4): 406-421.
Kishida, H., 1966. Damage to reinforced concrete buildings in
Niigata City with special reference to foundation engineer-
ing. Soils and Foundations, Japanese Society of Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 1:
71-88.
Koizumi, Y., 1966. Changes in density of sand subsoil caused
by the Niigata earthquake. Soils and Foundations, Japanese
Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering,
Vol. 6, No. 2: 38-44.
Kolb, C.R., 1976. Geologic control of sand boils along Missis-
sippi River levees. In D.R. Coates (Editors), Geomorphol-
ogy and engineering. Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Inc.,
Stroudsburg, PA, pp. 99-114.
Kuenen, P.H., 1958. Experiments in geology. Trans. Geol. Soc.
Glasgow, 23: 1-28.
Kuribayashi, E. and Tatsuoka, F., 1975. Brief review of lique-
faction during earthquakes in Japan. Soils and Foundations,
73
Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engi-
neering, Vol. 15, No. 4: 81-91.
Lade, P.V., 1992. Static instability and liquefaction of loose fine
sandy slopes. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers,
118(1): 51-71.
Law, K.T., Cat, Y.L. and He, G.N., 1990. An energy approach
for assessing seismic liquefaction potential. Can. Geotech.
J., 27(3): 320-329.
Li, Y., Craven, J., Schweig, E.S. and Obermeier, S.F., 1996.
Sand boils induced by the 1993 Mississippi River flood:
Could they one day be misinterpreted as earthquake-induced
liquefaction? Geology, 24(2): 171-174.
Liao, S.S.C., Veneziano, D. and Whitman, R.V., 1988. Regres-
sion models for evaluating liquefaction probability.
J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 114(4):
389-411.
Loertscher, T.W. and Youd, T.L., 1994. Magnitude scaling
factors for analysis of liquefaction, in O'Rourke, T.D. and
Hamada, M. (Editors), Proceedings from the Fifth
US-Japan Workshop on Earthquake Resistant Design of
Lifeline Facilities and Countermeasures Against Soil Lique-
faction. State University of New York at Buffalo, National
Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, Technical
Report NCEER-94-0026, pp. 703-711.
Liu, H., and Qiao, T., 1984, Liquefaction potential of saturated
sand deposits underlying foundation of structure: Proceed-
ings of the 8th World Conference on Earthquake Engineer-
ing, San Francisco, Vol. 3: pp. 199-206.
Lowe, D.R., 1975. Water escape structures in coarse-grained
sediments. Sedimentology, 22(2): 157-204.
Lowe, D.R. and LoPiccolo, R.D., 1974. The characteristics and
origins of dish and pillar structures. J. Sediment. Petrol.,
44(2): 484-501.
Martin, J.R., II and Clough, G.W., 1990. Implications from a
geotechnical investigation of liquefaction phenomena associ-
ated with seismic events in the Charleston, SC area. Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg,
VA, 414 pp.
McCulloch, D.S. and Bonilla, M.G., 1970. Effects of the earth-
quake of March 27, 1964, on the Alaska Railroad. US Geo-
logical Survey Professional Paper 545-D, 161 pp.
McKeown, F.A., Hamilton, R.M., Diehl, S.F. and Glick, E.E.,
1990. Diapiric origin of the BlytheviUe and Pascola arches
in the Reelfoot Rift, east-central United States; Relation to
New Madrid seismicity. Geology, 18(11): 1158-1162.
Meier, L.S., 1993. The susceptibility of a gravelly soil site to
liquefaction. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univer-
sity, Blacksburg, VA, M.S. thesis, 71 pp.
Mesri, G. and Gibala, R., 1971. Engineering properties of a
Pennsylvanianshale. Proceedings of the 13th Symposium on
Rock Mechanics, Urbana, IL, pp. 55-75.
Mills, P.C., 1983. Genesis and diagnostic value of soft-sediment
deformation structures - A review. Sedimentary Geol.,
35(2): 83-104.
Mitchell, J.K., 1976. Fundamentals of soil behavior. John Wiley
and Sons, Inc., New York, 422 pp.
74 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1 76
Mrmer, N.-A., 1985. Paleoseismicity and geodynamics in
Sweden. Tectonophysics, 117: 139-153.
Munson, P.J., Munson, C.A. and Bleuer, N.K., 1994. Late
Pleistocene and Holocene earthquake-induced liquefaction
in the Wabash Valley of southern Indiana. In: M.L. Jacobson
(Comp.), National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Pro-
gram, summaries of technical reports, Vol. XXXV. US Geo-
logical Survey Open-File Report 94-176, pp. 553-557.
Munson, P.J., Munson, C,A., Bleuer, N.K. and Labitzke, M.D.,
1992. Distribution and dating of prehistoric liquefaction in
the Wabash Valley of the Central US. Seismol. Res. Lett..
63(3): 337-342.
Munson, P.J., Munson, C.A. and Pond, E.C., 1995. Paleolique-
faction evidence for a strong Holocene earthquake in south-
central Indiana. Geology, 23(4): 325 328.
Nataraja, M.S. and Gill, H.S., 1983. Ocean wave-induced lique-
faction analysis. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers,
109(4): 573-590.
National Research Council, 1985. Liquefaction of soils during
earthquakes. National Academy Press, Washington, DC,
240 pp.
Nelson, A.R., 1992. Holocene tidal-marsh stratigraphy in
south-central Oregon Evidence of localized sudden submer-
gence in the Cascadia subduction zone. In C.H. Fletcher, III
and J.F. Wehrniller (Editors), Quaternary coasts of the
United States - Marine and lacustrine systems. SEPM (Soci-
ety for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 48,
pp. 287 301.
Nettleton, W.D., Daniels, R.B. and McCracken, R.J., 1968a.
Two North Carolina Coastal Plain catenas ~I. Morphology
and fragipan development. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 32:
577--582.
Nettleton, W.D., McCracken, R.J. and Daniels, R.B., 1968b.
Two North Carolina Coastal Plain catenas II. Micromor-
phology, composition, and fragipan genesis. Soil Sci. Soc.
Am, Proc., 32: 582-587.
Nuttli, O.W., 1979. Seismicity of the central United States.
Reviews in Engineering Geology, Geol. Soc. Am., IV:
67-93.
Obermeier, S.F., 1989. The New Madrid earthquakes; An engi-
neering-geologic interpretation of relict liquefaction features.
US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1336-B, 114 pp.
Obermeier, S.F., 1995. Preliminary limits for the strength of
shaking in the Columbia River valley and the southern half
of coastal Washington, with emphasis for a Cascadia subduc-
tion earthquake about 300 years ago. US Geological Survey
Open-File Report 94-589, 46 pp.
Obermeier, S.F., Jacobson, R.B., Powars, D.S., Weems, R.E.,
Hallbick, D.C., Gohn, G.S. and Markewich, H.W., 1986.
Holocene and late Pleistocene(?) earthquake-induced sand
blows in coastal South Carolina: Proceedings of the Third
US National Conference on Earthquake Engineering,
Charleston, South Carolina, August 24-28, 1986. Earth-
quake Eng. Res. Inst., E1 Cerrito, CA, Vol. 1: pp. 197-208.
Obermeier, S.F., Jacobson, R.B., Smoot, J.P., Weems, R.E.,
Gohn, G.S., Monroe, J.E. and Powars, D.S., 1990. Earth-
quake-induced liquefaction features in the coastal setting of
South Carolina and in the fluvial setting of the New Madrid
seismic zone. US Geological Survey Professional Paper
1504, 44 pp.
Obermeier, S.F., Martin, J.R., Frankel, A.D., Youd, T.L.,
Munson, P.J., Munson, C.A. and Pond, E.C., 1993. Lique-
faction evidence for one or more strong Holocene earth-
quakes in the Wabash Valley of southern Indiana and
Illinois, with a preliminary estimate of magnitude. US Geolo-
gical Survey Professional Paper 1536, 27 pp.
Obermeier, S.F., Weems, R.E. and Jacobson, R.B., 1987. Earth-
quake-induced liquefaction features in the coastal South
Carolina region. US Geological Survey Open-File Report
87-504, 20 pp.
Ohsaki, Y., 1970. Effects of sand compaction on liquefaction
during the Tokachioki earthquake. Soils and Foundations,
Japanese Soc. Soil Mech. Foundation Eng., Vol. 10, No. 2:
112-128.
Oldham, R.D., 1899. Report on the great earthquake of 12th
June 1897. Geological Survey of India Memoirs, Vol. 29:
379.
O'Rourke, T.D. and Hamada, M. (Editors), 1989. Proceedings
from the Second US-Japan Workshop on Liquefaction,
Large Ground Deformation and Their Effects on Lifelines.
State University of New York at Buffalo, National Center
for Earthquake Engineering Research, Technical Report
NCEER-89-0032, 498 pp.
Owen, G., 1987. Deformation processes in unconsolidated
sands, in Jones, M.E., and Preston, M.F. (Editors), Defor-
mation of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Geological
Society (of London) Special Publication 29, pp. 11-24.
Pease, J.W. and O'Rourke, T.D., 1995. Liquefaction hazards
in the San Francisco Bay region: site investigation, modeling,
and hazard assessment at areas most seriously affected by
the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Cornell University, School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ithaca, NY,
176 pp.
Penick, J., Jr., 1976. The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12.
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO, 181 pp.
Peters, K.E. and Herrmann, R.B. (Compilers and Editors),
1986. First-hand observations of the Charleston earthquake
of August 31, 1886, and other earthquake materials. South
Carolina Geol. Survey Bull., 41:116.
Peterson, C.D., 1992. Variation in form and scale of paleolique-
faction structures in late Pleistocene deposits of the central
Cascadia margin (abstr.). Geol. Soc. Am. Abstracts with
Programs, 24(5): 74.
Peterson, C,D., Hansen, M. and Jones, D., 1991. Widespread
evidence of paleoliquefaction in late-Pleistocene marine ter-
races from the Oregon and Washington margins of the Cas-
cadia subduction zone (abstr.) Eos, 72(44): 313.
Pettijohn, F.J. and Potter, P.E., 1964. Atlas and Glossary of
Primary Sedimentary Structures. Springer-Verlag, New
York, 370 pp.
Pond, E.C., 1996, in press. Seismic parameters for eastern North
America based on paleoliquefaction evidence in the Wabash
Valley. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA,
Ph.D. thesis.
 S.F Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Reimnitz, E. and Marshall, N.F., 1965. Effects of the Alaska
earthquake and tsunami on recent deltaic sediments. J. Geo-
phys. Res., 70(10): 2363-2376.
Reineck, H.E. and Sing,h, I.B., 1980. Depositional sedimentary
environments with reference to terrigenous elastics (2d edn.).
Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 542 pp.
Ringrose, P.S., 1989. Paleoseismic(?) liquefaction event in late
Quaternary lake sediments at Glen Roy, Scotland. Terra
Nova, 1(1): 57-62.
Ross, G.A., Seed, H.B. and Migliaccio, R.R., 1969. Bridge
foundation behavior in Alaska earthquake. J. Soil Mech.
Found. Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 95(SM4):
1007-1036.
Russ, D.P., 1979. Late Holocene faulting and earthquake recur-
rence in the Reelfoot Lake area, northwestern Tennessee.
Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 90(11): 1013-1018.
Saucier, R.T., 1989. Evidence for episodic sand-blow activity
during the 1811-12 New Madrid (Missouri) earthquake
series. Geology, 17(2): 103-106.
Saucier, R.T., 1991a. Comment on "Formation of Mima
mounds; a seismic hypothesis". Geology, 19(3): 284.
Saucier, R.T., 1991b. Geoarchaeological evidence of strong pre-
historic earthquakes in the New Madrid (Missouri) seismic
zone. Geology, 19(4): 296-298.
Savage, J.C. and Lisowski, M., 1991. Strain measurements and
the potential for a great subduction zone earthquake off the
coast of Washington. Science, 252: 101-103.
Scott, R.F., 1986. Solidification and consolidation of a liquefied
sand column. Soils Found. Jpn. Soc. Soil Mech. Found. Eng.,
26(4): 23-31.
Scott, R.F. and Zuekerman, K.A., 1973. Sand blows and lique-
faction, in The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. National
Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, pp. 179-189.
Seed, H.B., 1968. Landslides during earthquakes due to soil
liquefaction. J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civil
Engineers, 94, SM5: 1055-1122.
Seed, H.B., 1979. Soil liquefaction and cyclic mobility evalua-
tion for level ground during earthquakes. J. Geotech. Eng.,
Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 105, GT2: 201-255.
Seed, H.B. and Idriss, I.M., 1971. A simplified procedure for
evaluating soil liquefaction potential. J. Soil Mech. Found.
Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 97, SM9: 1249-1274.
Seed, H.B., Idriss, I.M. and Arango, I., 1983. Evaluation of
liquefaction potential using field performance data.
J Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 109(3): 458-482.
Seed, H.B., Tokimatsu, K., Harder, L.F. and Chung, R.M.,
1985. Influence of SPT procedures in soil liquefaction resis-
tance evaluations. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engi-
neers, 111(12): 1425-1445.
Seilacher, A., 1969. Fault-graded beds interpreted as seismites.
Sedimentology, 13: 155-159.
Shllts, W.W., 1978. Nature and genesis of mudboils, central
Keewatin, Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci., 15(7): 1053-1068.
Sieh, K.E., 1978. Prehistoric large earthquakes produced by slip
on the San Andreas fault at PaUett Creek, California. J. Geo-
phys. Res., 83(B8): 3907-3939.
Sims, J.D., 1973. Earthquake-induced structures in sediments
75
of Van Norman Lake, San Fernando, California. Science,
182(4108): 161-163.
Sims, J.D., 1975. Determining earthquake recurrence intervals
from deformational structures in young lacustrine sediments.
Tectonophysics, 29: 141-t52.
Sims, J.D., 1978. Annotated bibliography of penecontempora-
neous deformational structures in sediments. US Geological
Survey Open-File Report 78-510, 158 pp.
Sims, J.D. and Garvin, C.D., 1995. Recurrent liquefaction
induced by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and 1990 and
1991 aftershocks; Implications for paleoseismicity studies.
Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull., 85(1): 51-65.
Singh, S., 1994. Liquefaction characteristics of silts. In S. Pra-
kash and P. Dakoulas (Editors), Ground failures under
seismic conditions. Am. Soc. Civil Engineers Geotech.
Special Publication 44:105-116.
Springer, F.M. Jr., UUrich, C.R. and Hagerty, D.J., 1985.
Streambank stability. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engi-
neers, 111(5): 624-640.
Steele, F., Daniels, R.B., Gamble, E.E. and Nelson, L.A., 1969.
Fragipan horizons and Be masses in the middle coastal plain
of north central North Carolina. Soil Sci. Soc. Am., Proc.,
33: 752-755.
Stone, J.R. and Ashley, G.M., 1992. Ice-wedge casts, pingo
scars, and the drainage of glacial Lake Hitehcock. In P.
Robinson and J.B. Brady (Editors), Guidebook for Field
Trips in the Connecticut Valley Region of Massachusetts and
Adjacent States, Vol. 2. University of Massachusetts,
Department of Geology and Geography, Contribution 66,
pp. 305-331.
Svensson, H., 1988. Ice-wedge casts and relict polygonal pat-
terns in Scandinavia. J. Quaternary Sci., 3(1): 57-67.
Swenson, F.A., 1964. Ground-water phenomena associated
with the Hebgen Lake earthquake. US Geological Survey
Professional Paper 435-N, pp. 159-165.
Taber, S., 1914. Seismic activity in the Atlantic Coastal Plain
near Charleston, S.C. Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull., 4: 108-160.
Terzaghi, K. and Peck, R.B., 1967. Soil Mechanics in Engineer-
ing Practice (2d edn.). New York, John Wiley, 729 pp.
Tokimatsu, K. and Seed, H.B., 1987. Evaluation of settlements
in sands due to earthquake shaking. J. Geotech. Eng., Am.
Soc. Civil Engineers, 113(8): 861-878.
Tsuchida, H. and Hayashi, S., 1971. Estimation of liquefaction
potential of sandy soils. Proceedings of the Third Joint Meet-
ing, US-Japan Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects, UJNR,
Tokyo, May 1971, pp. 91-109.
Tuttle, M.P., 1994. The liquefaction method for assessing paleo-
seismicity. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Report
NUREG/CR-6258, 38 pp.
Tuttle, M.P., Cowie, P. and Wolf, L., 1992. Liquefaction
induced by modern earthquakes as a key to paleoseismicity;
A case study of the 1988 Saguenay event. In A.J. Weiss
(Comp.), Proceedings of the Nineteenth Water Reactor
Safety Information Meeting. US Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission Report NUREG/CP-0119, Vol. 3, pp. 437-462.
Tuttle, M.P. and Schweig, E.C., 1995. Archeological and pedo-
logical evidence for large prehistoric earthquakes in the New
76 S.F. Obermeier/Engineering Geology 44 (1996) 1-76
Madrid seismic zone, central United States. Geology,
23(3): 253-256.
Tuttle, M.P. and Seeber, L., 1991. Historic and prehistoric
earthquake-induced liquefaction in Newbury, Massachu-
setts. Geology, 19(6): 594-597.
Updike, R.G., Egan, J.A., Moriwaki, Y., Idriss, I.M. and
Moses, T.L., 1988. A model for earthquake-induced transla-
tory landslides in Quaternary sediments. Geol. Soc. Am.
Bull., 100(5): 783-792.
Valera, J.E., Traubenik, M.L., Egan, J.A. and Kaneshiro, J.Y..
1994. A practical perspective on liquefaction of gravels. In
S. Prakash and P. Dakoulas (Editors), Ground Failures
Under Seismic Conditions. Am. Soc. Civil Engineers
Geotech. Special Publication 44: pp. 241-257.
van Loon, A.J., 1992. The recognition of soft-sediment deform-
ations as early-diagenetic features - A literature review. In
K.H. Wolf and G.V. Chilingarian (Editors), Diagenesis III.
Elsevier, New York, pp. 135-189.
van Loon, A.J. and Brodzikowski, K., 1987. Problems and pro-
gress in the research on soft-sediment deformations. Sedi-
mentary Geol., 50: 167-193.
Van Vliet-Lanoe, B., 1988, The significance of cryoturbation
phenomena in environmental reconstruction: J. Quaternary
Sci., 3(I): 85-96.
Vandenberghe, J., 1988. Cryoturbations. In M.J. Clark
(Editor), Advances in Perigiacial Geomorphology. John
Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 179-198.
Walsh, T.J., Combellick, R.A. and Black, G.L., 1995. Liquefac-
tion features from a subduction earthquake; Preserved exam-
ples from the 1964 Alaska earthquake. Washington Division
of Geology and Earth Resources, Report of Investigations
32, 80 pp.
Wang, Zhong-qi, Fang, Hong-qi and Zhao, Shu-dong, 1983.
Macroscopic features of earthquake induced soil liquefaction
and its influence on ground damage. Can. Geotech. J.,
20(1): 61-68.
Wesnousky, S.G. and Letiter, L.M., 1992. The repeat time of
the 1811 and 1812 New Madrid earthquakes; a geological
perspective. Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull., 82(4): 1756-1784.
Wong, R.T., Seed, H.B. and Chan, C.K., 1975. Cyclic loading
liquefaction of gravelly soils. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc.
Civil Engineers, 101(GT6): 571-582.
Wood, H.O. and Neumann, F., 1931. Modified Mercalli inten-
sity scale of 1931. Seismolog. Soc. Am. Bull., 21: 277-283.
Youd, T.L., 1973. Liquefaction, flow, and associated ground
failure. US Geological Survey Circular 688, 12 pp.
Youd, T.L., 1978. Major cause of earthquake damage in ground
failure. Civil Eng., 48(4): 47-51.
Youd, T.L., 1984a. Geologic effects Liquefaction and associ-
ated ground failure. In: Williams, M.E., Proceedings of the
Geological and Hydrologic Hazards Training Program. US
Geological Survey Open-File Report 84-760, pp. 210-232.
Youd, T.L., 1984b. Recurrence of liquefaction at the same site.
Proceedings of the Eighth World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, Vol. 3: pp. 231-238.
Youd, T.L., 1996a. in press, Liquefaction criteria based on
probabilistic analyses of cyclic stress ratio and (N1)6o data.
In: T.L. Youd (Editor), NCEER Workshop on Evaluation
of Liquefaction Resistance, January, 1996. State University
of New York at Buffalo, National Center for Earthquake
Engineering Research.
Youd, T.L., 1996b in press, Magnitude scaling factors. In T.L.
Youd (Editor), NCEER Workshop on Evaluation of Lique-
faction Resistance, January, 1996. State University of New
York at New York, National Center for Earthquake Engi-
neering Research.
Youd, T.L. and Bartlett, S.F., 1991. Case histories of lateral
spreads from the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In T.D. O'Rourke
and M. Hamada (Editors), Proceedings from the Third
Japan-US Workshop on Earthquake Resistant Design of
Lifeline Facilities and Countermeasures for Soil Liquefac-
tion. State University of New York at Buffalo, National
Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, Technical
Report NCEER-91-0001, pp. 175-189.
Youd, T.L. and Garris, C.T., 1995. Liquefaction-induced
ground surface disruption. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil
Engineers, 121 ( 11 ): 805-809.
Youd, T.L., Holzer, T.L. and Bennett, M.J., 1989. Liquefaction
lessons learned from Imperial Valley, California. Twelfth
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering, Proceedings of Discussion Session on Influence
of Local Conditions on Seismic Response, Rio de Janeiro,
pp. 47-54.
Youd, T.L. and Hoose, S.N., 1978. Historic ground failures in
northern California triggered by earthquakes. US Geological
Survey Professional Paper 993, 177 pp.
Youd, T.L. and Keefer, D.K., 1994. Liquefaction during the
1977 San Jose Province earthquake (M~ 7.4). Eng. Geol.,
37:211-233.
Youd, T.L. and Perkins, D.M., 1978. Mapping liquefaction-
induced ground failure potential. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc.
Civil Engineers, 104(GT4): 433-446.
Youd, T.L. and Perkins, D.M., 1987. Mapping of liquefaction
severity index. J. Geotech. Eng., Am. Soc. Civil Engineers,
113(11): 1374-1392.