An Official Seismic Hazard Zone Map for the Lick Observatory 7.5-minute Quadrangle was released to Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose by the California Geological Survey (CGS) on October 26, 2012.  This map is released under the authority of the Seismic Hazards Mapping Act, passed following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  This map addresses the seismic hazards of liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides and was developed pursuant to the Seismic Hazards Mapping Act (Division 2, Chapter 7.8, California Public Resources Code).  The purpose of the Seismic Hazards Mapping Act (SHMA) is to reduce the threat to public safety and to minimize the loss of life and property by identifying and mitigating these seismic hazards.

This map is displayed in a new format referred to as Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation.  The updated graphical representation shows the location of both Seismic Hazard Zones and Earthquake Fault Zones.  The Earthquake Fault Zones shown on the Lick Observatory Quadrangle were released in 1982 under the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act.  Earthquake Fault Zones provide a mechanism for reducing losses from surface fault rupture by prohibiting the siting of most structures for human occupancy across traces of active faults.  For more information about the Act and active faults in California go to:
http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rghm/ap/Pages/Index.aspx 

This map is available as PDF or in several GIS file formats:

• Download Lick Observatory Zone Map (36 MB)    (Download compact version (6 MB)
• Download Lick Observatory Zone Report.