Liquefaction zones (HESS)

data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 9 Jun 2023

Liquefaction zones for development of the Parcel Inventory dataset for the Housing Element Site Selection (HESS) Pre-Screening Tool. This feature set is a subset of the complete feature set for the San Francisco Bay Region. It only provides features for areas at either High or Very High susceptibility to liquefaction. The features delineate different types and ages of Quaternary deposits for the region and their susceptibility to liquefaction. The data provides a framework for the architecture and history of the Quaternary sedimentary basins, which is used in estimating earthquake shaking. **This data set represents the entire San Francisco Bay Region by combining both Open-File Report 00-444 and Open-File Report 2006-1037 data. The area covered by Open-File Report 2006-1037 was erased from Open-File Report 00-444 and the two data sets were merged. A column has been added to the attribute table to label which report each polygon was originally from. Other than this supplemental information paragraph, all the metadata is from Open-File Report 2006-1037.** This report presents a map and database of Quaternary deposits and liquefaction susceptibility for the urban core of the San Francisco Bay region. It supercedes the equivalent area of U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-444 (Knudsen and others, 2000), which covers the larger nine-county San Francisco Bay region. The report consists of (1) a spatial database, (2) two small-scale colored maps (Quaternary deposits and liquefaction susceptibility), (3) a text describing the Quaternary map and liquefaction interpretation (part 3), and (4) a text introducing the report and describing the database (part 1). All parts of the report are digital; part 1 describes the database and digital files and how to obtain them by downloading across the internet. The nine counties surrounding San Francisco Bay straddle the San Andreas fault system, which exposes the region to serious earthquake hazard (Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1999). Much of the land adjacent to the Bay and the major rivers and streams is underlain by unconsolidated deposits that are particularly vulnerable to earthquake shaking and liquefaction of water-saturated granular sediment. This new map provides a consistent detailed treatment of the central part of the 9-county region in which much of the mapping of Open-File Report 00-444 was either at smaller (less detailed) scale or represented only preliminary revision of earlier work. Like Open-File Report 00-444, the current mapping uses geomorphic expression, pedogenic soils, inferred depositional environments, and geologic age to define and distinguish the map units. Further scrutiny of the factors controlling liquefaction susceptibility has led to some changes relative to Open-File Report 00-444: particularly the reclassification of San Francisco Bay mud (Qhbm) to have only MODERATE susceptibility and the rating of artificial fills according to the Quaternary map units inferred to underlie them (other than dams ? adf). The two colored maps provide a regional summary of the new mapping at a scale of 1:200,000, a scale that is sufficient to show the general distribution and relationships of the map units but not to distinguish the more detailed elements that are present in the database. The report is the product of cooperative work by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, William Lettis & Associates, Inc. (WLA), and the California Geological Survey. An earlier version was submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey by WLA as a final report for a NEHRP grant (Witter and others, 2005). The mapping has been carried out by WLA geologists under contract to the NEHRP Earthquake Program (Grant 99-HQ-GR-0095) and by the California Geological Survey. The original reports and data are available at Open-File Report 2006-1037 (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1037/) and Open-File Report 00-444 (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-444/).

Tags: mdm, hess

This dataset has the following 10 columns:

Column NameAPI Column NameData TypeDescriptionSample Values
ptypeptypetextGeologic unit label. Column values are 'ac' (Artificial stream channel (historical)), 'acf' (Artificial channel fill (historical)), 'adf' (Artificial dam fill (historical)), 'af' (Artificial fill (historical)), 'afem' (Artificial fill over estuarine mud (historical)), 'alf' (Artificial levee fill (historical)), 'br' (pre-Quaternary deposits and bedrock), 'br?' (pre-Quaternary deposits and bedrock (queried)), 'gq' (Gravel quarries and percolation ponds), 'H2O' (open water), 'nm' (not mapped), 'Qa' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene alluvium undifferentiated), 'Qa?' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene alluvium undifferentiated (queried)), 'Qb' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene basin deposits), 'Qbt' (Pleistocene bay terrace deposits), 'Qbt?' (Pleistocene bay terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qds' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene dune sand), 'Qf' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocenealluvial fan deposits), 'Qha' (Holocene alluvium undifferentiated), 'Qha?' (Holocene alluvium undifferentiated (queried)), 'Qhay' (Latest Holocene alluvial deposits Undifferentiated), 'Qhb' (Holocene basin deposits), 'Qhbm' (Holocene San Francisco Bay Mud), 'Qhbs' (Latest Holocene beach sand), 'Qhc' (Modern stream channel deposits), 'Qhds' (Holocene dune sand), 'Qhed' (Holocene estuarine delta deposits), 'Qhf' (Holocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qhf?' (Holocene alluvial fan deposits (queried)), 'Qhf1' (Younger Holocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qhf2' (Older Holocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qhf3' (Oldest Holocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qhfe' (Holocene alluvial fan-estuarine complex deposits), 'Qhff' (Holocene alluvial fan deposits fine facies), 'Qhfy' (Latest Holocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qhl' (Holocene alluvial fan levee deposits), 'Qhl1' (Younger Holocene alluvial fan levee deposits), 'Qhl2' (Older Holocene alluvial fan levee deposits), 'Qhl3' (Oldest Holocene alluvial fan levee deposits), 'Qhly' (Latest Holocene alluvial fan levee deposits), 'Qht' (Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qht1' (Younger Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qht2' (Older Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qhty' (Latest Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qhty?' (Latest Holocene stream terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qhty1' (Younger latest Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qhty2' (Older latest Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qmt' (Pleistocene marine terrace deposits), 'Qmt?' (Pleistocene marine terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qmt1' (Youngest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace deposits), 'Qmt2' (Second youngest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace deposits), 'Qmt2?' (Second youngest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qmt3' (Second oldest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace deposits), 'Qmt4' (Oldest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace Deposits), 'Qmt4?' (Oldest (of 4) Pleistocene marine terrace Deposits (queried)), 'Qoa' (Early to late Pleistocene alluvial deposits undifferentiated), 'Qoa?' (Early to late Pleistocene alluvial deposits undifferentiated (queried)), 'Qoa1' (Younger early to late Pleistocene alluvial deposits undifferentiated), 'Qoa2' (Older early to late Pleistocene alluvial deposits undifferentiated), 'Qof' (Early to late Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qof?' (Early to late Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits (queried)), 'Qop' (Early to late Pleistocene pediment deposits), 'Qot' (Early to late Pleistocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qot1' (Younger early to late Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qot2' (Older early to late Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qpa' (Latest Pleistocenealluvium undifferentiated), 'Qpa?' (Latest Pleistocenealluvium undifferentiated (queried)), 'Qpf' (Latest Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qpf?' (Latest Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits (queried)), 'Qpf1' (Younger latest Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qpf2' (Older latest Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits), 'Qpt' (Latest Pleistocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qpt?' (Latest Pleistocene stream terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qt' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene stream terrace deposits), 'Qt?' (Latest Pleistocene to Holocene stream terrace deposits (queried)), 'Qt1' (Younger latest Pleistocene to Holocene stream terrace deposits), and 'Qt2' (Older latest Pleistocene to Holocene stream terrace deposits).
liqliqtextLevel of liquefaction susceptibility. Column values are either H (High Susceptibility) or VH (Very High Susceptibility).
liq_sourceliq_sourcenumberAuthor added item that records custom liquefaction assignments for Quaternary polygons. Column values are either 0 (Susceptibility rating based on map unit) or 1 (Custom rating based on such local information as depth to ground water or historical occurrence of liquefaction).
usgsusgstextIdentifies United States Geological Survey report which which was the polygon source, including its attributes. Column values are either Open-File Report 00-444 (Report on liquefaction susceptibility, for the full region, produced in 2000. Report authors are Keith L. Knudsen, Janet M. Sowers, Robert C. Witter, Carl M. Wentworth, and Edward J. Helley) or Open-File Report 2006-1037 (Update report on liquefaction susceptibility, for core of region, produced in 2006. Report authors are Robert C. Witter, Keith L. Knudsen, Janet M. Sowers, Carl M. Wentworth, Richard D. Koehler, and Carolyn E. Randolph).
SusceptsuscepttextLevel of liquefaction susceptibility label. Information is based on letter code from liq column. Column values are either High or Very high.
Shape__Areashape__areanumberFeature area in square meters.
Shape__Lengthshape__lengthnumberFeature perimeter length in meters.
Shape_Lengthshape_lengthnumberFeature perimeter length in decimal degrees.
Shape_Areashape_areanumberFeature area in square decimal degrees.
geometrygeometrymultipolygonFeature geometry. Coordinates defining the features.