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Maximum horizontal stress orientation and relative stress magnitude (faulting regime) data throughout North America

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2023-11-29T00:00:00Z
This Data Release accompanies the publication "State of stress in areas of active unconventional oil and gas development in North America" by J.-E. Lund Snee (now J.-E. Lundstern) and M.D. Zoback (2022) in the AAPG Bulletin. This dataset provides maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) orientation and relative stress magnitude (faulting regime) information that comprise a new-generation crustal stress map for North America. Relative stress magnitudes are presented using the Aϕ (A_phi) parameter, a single scalar that represents the ratio of the three principal stress magnitudes. Data were collected between 2015 and 2022. Data points for SHmax orientations, relative stress magnitudes, and the earthquake focal mechanisms used to determine some of the stress information are included in tabular format. A raster file is included that shows Aϕ as interpolated across the continent from the included relative stress magnitude data points.

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