u.s. siesmic zones

huangyhg

u.s. siesmic zones
has anyone heard of a siesmic zone 8 in the united states?  a co-worker insists there is a zone 8 but i don't think so.  if one does exist, can someone provide me with some information?
thank you.
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7897:
seismic zone 8!??  ubc only goes to zone 4, which is the highest i've ever heard of.
jproj
there are only seismic zones 1 through 4 in ubc.  this is up to ubc-97.  however, the new 2000 ibc seismic design provisions does not use seismic zones to establish design earthquake loads any more.  instead ibc uses a parameter called seismic design category for imposing design and detailing requirements.  seismic design category of a structure is a function of three parameters: probable site ground motion, the type of soil at the stucture site, and the building occupancy category.
ask if they mean richter magnitude 8 or mercalli intensity 8?
they might.
just being picky, amokhta, but actually the seismic zones in the us vary from 0 to 4, not 1 to 4.
jae:  thank you.  you are right.  it was a typo on my side.
here are two links that may be helpful:
in the aashto standard specifications for the design of highway bridges, division 1a - seismic design, they divide the u.s. into for categories; a thru d.  almost everything east of nevada is category a.
it sounds like your friend is mixed up on his facts.
can anyone tell me what design category kitsap county state of washington, bremerton area is? i know that according to the 2003 ibc it is either d1 or d2
ask him what code he's referring to and then look it up.  seismic zones exist only as defined by a building code or other standard; they aren't stripes painted on the ground.  you could always write "bubba's building code" with zones from 1 to 99 or whatever you wanted.