The style of convective force transmission to plates and; strain-localization within and underneath plate boundaries remain; debated. To address some of the related issues, we analyze a range of; deformation indicators in southern California from the surface to the; asthenosphere. Present-day surface strain rates can be inferred from; geodesy. At seismogenic crustal depths, stress can be inferred from; focal mechanisms and splitting of shear waves from local earthquakes via; crack-dependent seismic velocities. At larger depths, constraints on; rock fabrics are obtained from receiver function anisotropy, Pn and P; tomography, surface wave tomography, and splitting of SKS and other; teleseismic core phases. We construct a synthesis of deformation-related; observations focusing on quantitative comparisons of deformation style.; We find consistency with roughly N-S compression and E-W extension near; the surface and in the asthenospheric mantle. However, all lithospheric; anisotropy indicators show deviations from this pattern. Pn fast axes; and dipping foliations from receiver functions are fault-parallel with; no localization to fault traces and match post-Farallon block rotations; in the Western Transverse Ranges. Local shear wave splitting inferences; deviate from the stress orientations inferred from focal mechanisms in; significant portions of the area. We interpret these observations as an; indication that lithospheric fabric, developed during Farallon; subduction and subsequent extension, has not been completely reset by; present-day transform motion and may influence the current deformation; behavior. This provides a new perspective on the timescales of; deformation memory and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions.
