SEISMIC HAZARD STUDY IN THE REGION OF THE GUAYMAS AND CANAL BALLENAS FAULTS, GULF OF CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
The system of faults in the Gulf of California, Mexico, accommodates a large part of the tectonic stress generated along the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates. In this fault system, the Guaymas and Canal de Ballenas faults, which extend for nearly 350 km in NW-SE direction, can generate large earthquakes, including at least 20 events of magnitude equal or greater than 6 since 1900. In this study, we evaluate the seismic hazard posed by these faults to the region. We utilize seismic records from stations of the CICESE Gulf of California Broadband Seismic Network (RESBAM) to evaluate the applicability of selected Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) proposed by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), for estimating Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) in this region. Furthermore, we develop a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) to assess the hazard for specific nearby population centers potentially impacted by future earthquakes.