Shallow Lake, Strong Shake: Record of Seismically Triggered Lacustrine Sedimentation From the 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake Earthquake Within Henrys Lake, Idaho

Abstract

We investigate a shallow lake basin for evidence of a large historic intraplate earthquake in western North America. Henrys Lake, Idaho is an atypical candidate for lacustrine paleoseismic study given its shallow depth (∼7 m) and low relief (≤2° slopes). Here, we test the earthquake-recording capacity of this basin type by showing sedimentological evidence of the 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthquake within sediment cores, using anthropogenically produced ¹³⁷Cs activity to constrain timing. In addition to expanding the morphologic range of basins targeted for lacustrine paleoseismic studies, this work has implications for sediment response in dam-enhanced basins. Lack of sedimentological evidence for other earthquakes coupled with radiocarbon chronology reveals that the 1959 event is the only clearly recorded earthquake within Henrys Lake since the mid-Holocene. Henrys Lake offers a proxy for paleo-earthquake signatures within similar lacustrine environments and underscores the importance of further paleoseismic studies in the region.