Fault line map: earthquake faults near an address
Enter a US street address to see the earthquake faults the U.S. Geological Survey maps near it: every fault within 5 miles with its distance, direction, age of last movement and slip rate, or the nearest one within 100 miles, plus the USGS seismic hazard map value for the point. The answer is read from USGS fault maps when you search. It shows mapped faults only; it is not a geotechnical or fault-rupture assessment.
Example lookups
| Address | Result |
|---|---|
| 1350 State Highway 2, Wrightwood, CA | San Andreas fault zone (Mojave section) 0.23 mi SW, historic, slip rate greater than 5.0 mm/yr; San Gabriel fault zone 4.4 mi S; seismic hazard 120-160 %g |
| 38300 Sierra Hwy, Palmdale, CA | San Andreas fault zone (Mojave section) 0.70 mi S, latest Quaternary, slip rate greater than 5.0 mm/yr; seismic hazard 120-160 %g |
| 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl, San Francisco, CA (City Hall) | No mapped fault within 5 miles; nearest the Serra fault zone at 7.1 mi SW; seismic hazard 60-80 %g |
| 350 5th Ave, New York, NY (Empire State Building) | No mapped Quaternary fault within 100 miles; seismic hazard 16-18 %g |
Live results of this lookup on October 20, 2026. Distances run from the address point to the mapped fault trace.
What the fault ages mean
| Age class | Most recent movement |
|---|---|
| Historic | Moved in the last 150 years (surface rupture in a recorded earthquake) |
| Latest Quaternary | Moved in the last 15,000 years |
| Late Quaternary | Moved in the last 130,000 years |
| Middle and late Quaternary | Moved in the last 750,000 years |
| Undifferentiated Quaternary | Moved in the last 1.6 million years |
The USGS fault map covers faults and associated folds in the United States that show geological evidence of coseismic surface deformation in large earthquakes during the past 1.6 million years, believed to be sources of earthquakes larger than magnitude 6. It is the basis of the National Seismic Hazard Maps. Each fault also carries a slip-rate category (less than 0.2, 0.2 to 1.0, 1.0 to 5.0, or more than 5.0 millimeters per year), the sense of slip, the scale it was mapped at and whether its location is well constrained, moderately constrained or inferred.
Fault line map for California
The lookup works for every California address, from the San Andreas to the smaller faults on the USGS map. For property, California adds a legal layer the USGS map does not: the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, passed after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake (magnitude 6.6). The California Geological Survey maps regulatory zones around the surface traces of active faults, defined for the Act as faults that have ruptured in the last 11,000 years. Inside a zone, “a structure for human occupancy cannot be placed over the fault and must be a minimum distance from the fault (generally fifty feet)”, and a seller must disclose the zone on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement.
The lookup's distances are to USGS fault traces; they do not say whether a parcel is inside an Alquist-Priolo zone. The zone maps are published by the California Geological Survey, and a title or real estate professional can tell you where a parcel falls.
What the map can and cannot tell you
It can tell you which mapped faults are near an address, how recently each moved and how fast it slips, and how strong shaking is expected to be in the area on the USGS seismic hazard map. It cannot tell you whether a building straddles a fault, how the ground under it will behave (liquefaction, landslides) or how a structure will perform: those need a site investigation by a geologist or geotechnical engineer.
The Environmental Records Report includes these faults with the flood zone, radon, transmission lines, FEMA hazard ratings and federal contamination lists for the address, for $29. For ownership, deeds, mortgages and liens, a title report is $49 per report in the counties we cover.
Questions
How do I find fault lines near me?
Enter the address in the lookup on this page. It locates the address and lists every fault the U.S. Geological Survey maps within 5 miles, nearest first, with the distance, direction, fault and section name, the age of its most recent movement and its slip rate. If none is that close it gives the nearest mapped fault within 100 miles.
Is my house on a fault line?
The lookup shows how far the address point is from the nearest mapped fault trace, but fault traces are mapped at scales from 1:4,800 to 1:750,000 (most at 1:24,000 or 1:250,000) and can be off by hundreds of feet, so it cannot say whether a building sits on a fault. In California the official answer for surface rupture is the state's Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone maps; elsewhere a geologist or geotechnical engineer answers it.
What do the fault ages mean?
They give the time since the fault last moved, from the USGS fault map legend: historic (last 150 years), latest Quaternary (15,000 years), late Quaternary (130,000 years), middle and late Quaternary (750,000 years) and undifferentiated Quaternary (1.6 million years). The USGS gives the example of looking for faults that moved in the past 15,000 years at rates above 5 mm per year to find "the youngest and most active prehistoric faults".
Does California require sellers to disclose fault zones?
Yes. The California Geological Survey says the Natural Hazards Disclosure Act (Civil Code section 1103) requires sellers and their agents to give buyers a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement, and that fact must be disclosed when the property intersects an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone. Under the Alquist-Priolo Act a structure for human occupancy cannot be placed over an active fault and must generally be at least fifty feet from it.
Why does the lookup find no faults near me in the East?
The USGS fault map shows faults with geologic evidence of surface deformation in large earthquakes during the past 1.6 million years. Few faults in the central and eastern US show that evidence at the surface, so the map is sparse there even where earthquakes happen. No nearby mapped fault is not the same as no earthquake hazard; the seismic hazard map value in the result covers shaking from all sources.
What is the seismic hazard value?
The USGS national seismic hazard map of peak horizontal ground acceleration with a 2 percent chance of being exceeded in 50 years, on firm rock, as a band in percent of gravity (%g). For example the lookup gave 120-160 %g near the San Andreas fault in Wrightwood, California, and 16-18 %g in Midtown Manhattan. It is a regional map value, not a design value for a building.
Other free hazard lookups
- Radon by county and ZIP codeEPA radon zone and the radon test results on file for any county, ZIP code or address.
- Power lines near an addressHigh-voltage transmission lines within 1 mile from federal maps, with voltage and distance.
- Flood zone lookupThe FEMA flood zone mapped at any US address. Not an official flood zone determination.
- Superfund sites near an addressThe nearest EPA Superfund (NPL) sites and their status.
All of these, plus wetlands, FEMA hazard ratings and the federal contamination lists, are in the Environmental Records Report for any US address ($29).
A screening lookup of USGS fault maps, not a geologic, geotechnical or fault-rupture investigation, not an Alquist-Priolo zone determination and not engineering advice.
Order a title search: owner of record, deeds, mortgages and liens, $49 per report.