Scientific efforts following the 1966 Parkfield earthquake included
detailed mapping of the recently active fault breaks along the southcentral
SAF . The
Vedder and Wallace mapping covers the Cholame and Carrizo Plain
sections of the SAF. They noted that the SAF zone showed clear
evidence for repeated recent fault slip (the most recent being the
great 1857 earthquake). In addition, they concluded that the fault zone
was comprised of more subparallel, continuous, and longer fault
traces than the sections to the northwest (Brown, 1970) and southeast
(Ross, 1969) and suggested that this was largely a result of the better
preservation of the features because of the drier climate, but also
because of possible variation in fault behavior.