Is the Wasatch fault the same type of fault as the San Andreas fault in California?
No. The San Andreas fault slips horizontally with little vertical movement. This is called a strike-slip fault. The Wasatch fault slips in a primarily vertical direction, with the mountains rising relative to the valley floor. The Wasatch fault is a so-called normal fault. All earthquakes produce both vertical and horizontal ground shaking. Usually the horizontal shaking is more energetic and more damaging because structures generally resist vertical loads, like gravity, more easily. Click here to view a block diagram of the Wasatch Fault from UGS Public Information Series #6, revised to May 1990.
