Using a Spatial Join to add new Geological Data to a earthquake history file.

The map below is an ARCGIS map that included an layer from the Rutger's University Map Lab dealing with the geologic composition of the earth.  Once I added this layer, it was possible to do a spatial join with the earthquake history layer.  What a spacial join does is add to the Earthquake History table the soil type at each eartquake point.  Once doing this using ARCGIS , it is possible to produce a report.  The spatial join can be done using ARCGIS's toolbox and is quite simple.

The report below was produced using ARCGIS's report facility.  This is available when you bring up the source table.  Some summary statistics is available at the end of the table, showing max and min and standard deviations on some of this earthquake data from New Jersey

Earthquakes and Fault Lines in Northern New Jersey

During last weekend, I heard that there was a earthquake in northern New Jersey.  One radio report told us that it was even felt in Brooklyn.  I visited Rutger's University map site and after several clicks, you can download several maps into shape files dealing with New Jersey geography and geology.  One download dealt with New Jersey earthquakes in the past to now.  I downloaded the file and brought it up in ARCGIS.  Looking at the table,  I noticed that there was as entry for last week's earthquake:
Here are some of the entries:

  Ringwood Boro, Passaic County, 1/2/2016, 5:58 am,  Lat. 41.1298,  depth= 8.38 km.    Magnitude: 2.07, Location: 2.4km  NW of Ringwood, N.J.

In the map above, I brought in some shape files that I downloaded several years ago.  The January 2, 2016 earthquake location is shown by a green star.  Light rail lines in red.  Earthquake sites are shown by a color coded dot based on the magnitude of the quake.  I used Jenkins-Box to assign the various ranges.  The highest magnitude is in red.  Each earthquake site shows the date of the quake and the magnitude.   I also brought in fault lines (from a download of several years ago) and a raster file of elevations in NewJersey.  The higher the location, the lighter the color. Notice that the non-electric light rail line that goes to Camden sits on the site of a prior earthquake.

Folks, do not make any decisions on this map.  I am not a geologist.  I am just having some fun with maps and I hope you find this information useful.
Tramway Null(0)


  25 Earthquake Sites are within 500 Feet of a Fault:  Analysis Done by ARGIS.  A buffer of 500 Feet was set up around the fault shape file data.   Those sites within this buffer are shown.  They represent 13.1% of the total.  Notice that southern NJ does not seem to have fault lines?

Update Regarding # 7 Flushing Line Extension

Hi Folks:

  The above map now shows the location of the PRW of the Flushing Line extension.  The station at 34th Street, 11th Avenue is also shown and I should have made the green dot bigger.  You also see neighboring transit lines and stations and the street elevation.  This update regarding the station and line shape files comes from our friends at: "Center for Urban Research at the Graduate Center\CUNY".  There are also very interesting maps at this location, not all transit related.  Incidentally, the Flushing Line passes at 90 degrees across the former lower level of the "Eight Avenue Subway" at the 42nd Street station.  I am told that there is no visual links between these two systems.  As a transit buff, who has weird ideas, my idea would have been to have the Flushing Line have a branch off to the north end of the 42nd Street 8 Avenue Lower Level station.  From an engineering point of view, I do not know how much space would be required to make such a branch off.   Some westbound Flushing trains would use the lower level track to meet with the mainline Eight Avenue Tracks.  The final stop would be 59th Street - Columbus Circle.  The problem would be signaling for this section and the small width of Flushing Line Cars.  Not all Flushing trains would go to Columbus Circle.  You also have the problem of relaying and not blocking downtown IND trains.  Of course, would there be a need for such a service from Flushing to Columbus Circle?
Also, the proper trackways and switches must exist to allow the trains not to return back to Queens via the 53rd Street tunnel.
Tramway Null(0)