List of fault zones

This list covers all faults and fault-systems that are either geologically important or connected to prominent seismic activity. It is not intended to list every notable fault, but only major fault zones.

Fault name Length [km] Location Sense of movement Time of movement Associated earthquakes Sources
Aedipsos-Kandili Fault 60 North Euboean Gulf, Greece Normal Active
Alaska–Aleutian megathrust 4000 Kamchatka, Russia to Gulf of Alaska Subduction zone Active 1964 Prince William Sound (M9.2), 1965 Rat Islands (M8.7), 1957 Andreanof Islands (M8.6) [1]
Alpine Fault 600 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip (transform) Active Last earthquake ca. 1717 (~M8) [2]
Altyn Tagh Fault 2000 Tibetan Plateau/Tarim Basin Sinistral strike-slip Active [3]
Amfilochia Fault 60 Western Greece Sinistral strike-slip Active
Amorgos Fault >100 Greece, South Aegean Sea Normal Active 1956 Amorgos (M7.4)[4]
Arkitsa–Agios Konstantinos fault zone 25 Central Greece Normal
Aspy Fault 40 Nova Scotia, Canada Strike-slip
Atacama Fault 800 Atacama Desert, Chile Strike-slip Active
Atalanti Fault 50 Central Greece Normal Active 1894 Atalanti (M6.4, M6.9)
Atotsugawa Fault Japan Dextral strike-slip Active 1858 Hietsu earthquake (M~7)
Awatere Fault 200 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active 1848 Marlborough (M7.5)
Azores–Gibraltar transform fault 2250 Azores to Strait of Gibraltar Dextral strike-slip Active 1755 Lisbon earthquake (est. M7.7–9.0), 1969 Cape St. Vincent (M7.9), 1941 Gloria Fault (M8.0)
Baikal Rift Zone Lake Baikal Rift zone Active
Balcones Fault Texas, United States Normal Inactive the subsidence of the Texas Coastal Plain during the Neogene period
Ballenas Fault Gulf of California, United States Transform Active
Baribis Fault 100 Java, Indonesia Thrust Active 1834 Java earthquake (M 7.0)
Brothers Fault Zone Oregon, United States
Bulnay Fault 370 Mongolia Sinistral Active 1905 Bolnai (M8.3)
Calaveras Fault 120 San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States Dextral Active 1911 Morgan Hill (M6.5), 1984 Morgan Hill (M6.2)
Cascadia megathrust 1000 West coast of United States – Oregon & Washington Vancouver Island, Canada Subduction zone Active 1700 Cascadia (M9.0)
Central African Shear Zone 4000 Central Africa Rift zone
Cerro Prieto Fault Gulf of California, United States Transform Active
Chino Fault California, United States Dextral Active
Chixoy-Polochic Fault Guatemala Transform Active 1816 Guatemala (M7.5)[5]
Christchurch Fault South Island, New Zealand Active
Chile subduction megathrust 3000 West coast of Chile Subduction zone Active 1960 Valdivia (M9.5); 1906 Valparaiso (M8.2); 2010 Maule (M8.8); 2014 Iquique (M8.2)
Clarence Fault 210 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active
Clarendon-Linden fault system New York, United States
Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault California, United States
Cochabamba Fault Zone Bolivia Sinistral strike-slip
Concord Fault 18 California, United States Dextral Active
Corinth Rift 110 Greece Rift zone Active 1995 Aigio (M6.2); 1981 Alkyonides (M6.4-6.7); 1861 Helike (M6.6-6.7); 373 BC Helike
Craven Fault System Pennines Normal Carboniferous
Darling Fault 950-1500 Western Australia, Australia Proterozoic
Dead Sea Transform ~1000 Sinai Peninsula Sinistral transform Active 1138 Aleppo earthquake
Delfi Fault Zone 25 Central Greece Normal to strike-slip
Denali Fault >500 British Columbia, Canada to Alaska, United States Dextral strike-slip Active 2002 Denali (M7.9)
East African Rift ~5,000 East Africa Rift zone Active
East Anatolian Fault ~700 Turkey Sinistral strike-slip Active 2003 Bingöl (M6.4), 2010 Elâzığ (M6.1), 2020 Elâzığ (M6.7), 2023 Turkey (M7.8)
Eastern Tennessee seismic zone Alabama to Virginia, United States Active 2003 Alabama (M4.6)
Elsinore Fault Zone 180 California, United States Dextral strike-slip Active
Eltanin Fault System Southern Ocean Dextral transform Active 1600 km offset
Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone Hispaniola Sinistral strike-slip Active 2010 Haiti (M7.0), 2021 Haiti (M7.2)
European Cenozoic Rift System 1,100 France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands Rift zone Active 1992 Roermond (M5.3), 1356 Basel (M6.0-7.1)
Flores back-arc thrust fault Java and Banda Sea, Indonesia Thrust Active July–August 2018 Lombok (M6.4-6.9)
Garlock Fault 250 California, United States Sinistral Active
Glarus thrust Switzerland Thrust fault Cenozoic
Great Glen Fault Scotland Strike-slip Silurian to Cenozoic
Great Lakes Tectonic Zone (GLTZ) 1400 Great Lakes, United States Tectonic zone Neoarchean
Great Northern Puerto Rico Fault Zone (GNPRfz) 270 Puerto Rico Strike-slip Active 2010 Aguas Buenas (5.1) [6]
Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone (GSPRFZ) 200 Puerto Rico Strike-slip Active 2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes [6]
Great Sumatran Fault 1650-1900 Sumatra, Indonesia Strike-slip Active 1943 Alahan Panjang (M7.2), 1994 Liwa (M7.0)
Greendale Fault >20 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active 2010 Canterbury (M7.1)
Guaymas Fault 325 California, United States Dextral strike-slip Active
Gulf of California Rift Zone 1300 Mexico Rift zone Active 2010 Mexicali (M7.2)
Gulf of Suez Rift >250 Egypt Rift zone Late Oligocene – end Miocene
Haiyuan Fault 1000 Tibet, China Sinistral Active 1920, 1927
Hayward Fault Zone 119 San Francisco Bay, California, United States Strike-slip Active 1868 Hayward (M6.3–6.7)
Hellenic Arc 1000 East Mediterranean Sea Thrust/Strike-slip 365 AD (M8.5+); 1303 AD (~8)
Honey Lake Fault Zone Nevada and California, United States Dextral strike-slip Active
Hope Fault 130 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active 1888 North Canterbury (M7.3), 2016 North Canterbury Mw7.8
Humboldt Fault Zone Nebraska to Kansas, United States Normal Active 1867 Manhattan, Kansas (M5.1)
Hurricane Fault 250 Utah to Arizona, United States Normal 1992 Utah (M5.9)
Imperial Fault Zone California, United States Dextral strike-slip Active 1940 El Centro (M6.9), 1979 Imperial Valley (M6.4)
Ierapetra Fault 40 Crete Normal
Independence Valley fault system Nevada, United States Normal Active 2008 Wells earthquake (M6.0)
Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc subduction zone >2800 Micronesia Subduction zone Active 1993 Guam (M7.8)
Japan Trench 1400 Off the coast of Honshu Subduction zone Active see Seismicity of the Sanriku coast
Kabaw Fault >300 Myanmar Oblique-thrust Active 1792 Rakhine (M8.8)
Kameni-Kolumbo Fault zone >60 Greece, South Aegean Sea Dextral (?) Strike-slip
Kandi Fault Zone West Africa
Karakoram Fault 1000 Tibet Oblique-slip
Karsdorf Fault Germany
Kefalonia Transform Fault 180 Greece, Ionian Sea Dextral strike Slip Active 1953 Kephalonia (M7.2)
Kego Fault Japan Active 2005 Fukuoka (M7.0)
Kekerengu Fault South Island, New Zealand Dextral Active 2016 – See Hope Fault M7.8
Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone 3000 New Zealand Subduction zone Active 2021 Kermadec Islands (M8.1)
Kern Canyon Fault Sierra Nevada, California, United States Thrust fault
Kunlun fault 1500 Tibet Sinistral strike-slip Active 2001 Kunlun (M7.8)
Kuril–Kamchatka Trench 2900 From the Kuril Islands to the Kamchatka Peninsula Subduction zone Active 1952 Severo-Kurilsk (M9.0)
Kyaukkyan Fault 500 Myanmar Dextral Active 1912 Shan state (M7.7)
Laguna Salada Fault 64–80 United States and Mexico Strike-slip Active 2010 Mexicali (M7.2)
Laptev Sea Rift Arctic Ocean Rift zone
Lesser Antilles Subduction Zone >900 Lesser Antilles Subduction zone Active 1969 Guadeloupe (M7.2),[7] 1974 Antigua (7.5),[8] 2007 Martinique (M7.4)
Lewis Overthrust Montana, United States Thrust Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene
Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault 1000 Andes, Chile Strike-slip
Long Point–Eureka Heights Fault System Texas, United States Normal
Longmen Shan Fault Sichuan, China Thrust fault Active 2008 Sichuan (M8.0)
Lost River Fault Idaho, United States Normal Active 1983 Borah Peak (M6.9)
Lusatian Fault Germany Thrust fault
Macquarie Fault Zone >400 South Pacific Ocean Strike-slip Active 1989 Maquarie Isl. (8.2), 2008 Macquarie Island earthquake (M7.1)
Mae Chan Fault 120 Thailand and Laos Sinstral Active 2007 Laos (M6.3)
Magallanes–Fagnano Fault South America Transform
Main Boundary Thrust 2000 Himalaya Thrust Active (although not uniformly)
Main Central Thrust 2200 Himalaya Thrust Active (although not uniformly) 1991 Uttarkashi (M6.8)
Main Frontal Thrust 2000 Himalaya Thrust Active 1505 Lo Mustang (M8.9), 1934 Bihar (M8.0)
Main Himalayan Thrust 2000 Himalaya Subduction zone (continental collision) Active 1505 Lo Mustang (M8.9), 1950 Assam-Tibet (M8.6) 2015 Gorkha (M7.8), 2015 Nepal (M7.3)
Main Uralian Fault (MUF) 2000+ Urals Subduction zone
Marianna Fault Arkansas, United States
Marikina Valley fault system Philippines Dextral strike-slip Active
Marlborough fault system South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active 1843 Wanganui (M~7.5)
Meers Fault Oklahoma, United States Oblique slipe Active Holocene
Medvednica Fault Zone Zagreb, Croatia Strike-slip Active 1880 (M6.3), 2020 (M5.3)
Mendocino fracture zone California, United States Transform Active
Moab Fault Utah, United States Normal Active
Mocha fracture zone Mocha Island, Chile Transform Active
Motagua Fault Guatemala Transform Active 1717, 1773, 1902, 1976, 1980, 2009
Mount Diablo Thrust 25 Contra Costa County, California, United States Blind thrust Active
Mygdonia Graben North Greece Normal to strike-slip Active 1978 Thessaloniki (M6.4)
Middle America Trench 2750 West of Central America Subduction zone Active 1982 El Salvador (M7.3), 1992 Nicaragua (M7.7)
Nankai Trough 900 South of Honshū, Japan Subduction zone Active see Nankai megathrust earthquakes
Neodani Fault Japan Oblique-slip Active 1891 Mino–Owari (M8.0)
New Madrid Fault Zone Missouri, United States Normal Active 1811–1812 three (M7-8)
Nootka Fault British Columbia, Canada Transform Active
North Aegean Trough >250 North Aegean Sea, Greece, Turkey Dextral strike-slip Active 1912 (M7.6); 1982 (M6.7); 2014 (M6.9)
North Anatolian Fault Turkey Dextral strike-slip Active 1939 Erzincan (M7.8), 1912 Ganos (M7.4), 1999 Izmit (M7.4), 1999 Düzce (M7.2), 2022 Düzce (M6.1)
North Ikaria Fault >80 Central Aegean Sea, Greece Dextral strike slip
North Island Fault System 500 North Island, New Zealand Dextral strike slip Active
Northridge Blind Thrust San Fernando Valley, United States Blind thrust Active 1994 Northridge (M6.7)
Palu-Koro Fault 500 Palu, Sigi, Donggala, Indonesia Sinistral strike-slip Active 2005 Bora, Sigi earthquake (M6.2), 2018 Sulawesi earthquake (M7.5)
Periadriatic Seam 1000 Alps, Europe Dextral strike-slip
Pichilemu Fault 40 Chile Active 2010 Pichilemu (Libertador O'Higgins) (M6.9)
Piqiang Fault >70 China Sinistral strike-slip Active 2024 Uqturpan earthquake
Pliny Trench 300 Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Hellenic Trench Sinistral strike-slip
Port Hills Fault South Island, New Zealand Oblique-thrust Active 2011 Christchurch (M6.3)
Puente Hills Thrust 40 San Gabriel Valley, United States Blind thrust Active 1987 Whittier Narrows (M5.9)
Puerto Rico Trench 1,000+ Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands Transform Active 1943 Puerto Rico (M7.7)[9] [6]
Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault 800 Canada and Alaska Dextral Active 1949 Graham Island (M8.1), 1958 Lituya Bay (M7.8), 2012 Haida Gwaii (M7.8)
Pyramid Lake Fault Zone Nevada, United States Dextral strike-slip
Ramapo Fault 300 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, United States Normal Triassic to Early Jurassic
Rawat Fault Pakistan
Raymond Fault California, United States
Red River Fault 900 China, Vietnam Dextral strike-slip Active 1970 Tonghai (M7.1), 1925 Dali (M6.9-7.0), 2021 Dali (M6.1)
Red Sea Rift Red Sea Rift zone
Reigolil-Pirihueico Fault Andes
Rhine Rift Valley Germany and France Rift zone Active 1356 Basel (M6 to 7)
Rio Grande Rift Rio Grande Valley, United States and Mexico Rift zone
Romeral Fault System 700 Colombia Thrust and strike-slip Active 1983 (M5.5), 1999 (M6.2)
Sagami Trough 340 Off the coast of Honshū Subduction zone Active see Kantō earthquakes
Sagaing Fault 1500 Myanmar Dextral Active 1839, May 1930, Dec 1930, 1946, 1956, 2012, 2025
Salzach-Ennstal-Mariazell-Puchberg Fault System (SEMP) 400[10] Austria Sinistral strike-slip
San Andreas Fault System (Banning fault, Mission Creek fault, South Pass fault, San Jacinto fault, Elsinore fault) 1300 California, United States Dextral strike-slip Active 1906 San Francisco (M7.7 to 8.25), 1989 Loma Prieta (M6.9)
San Ramón Fault Chile Thrust fault
Sawtooth Fault Idaho, United States Normal
Seattle Fault Washington, United States Thrust fault Active
Septentrional-Orient Fault Zone Caribbean Sinistral strike-slip Active 1842 Cap-Haïtien (M8.1), 2020 (M7.7)
Shanxi Rift System ≥900 northern China Rift zone Active 1303 Hongdong (M7.2-7.6), 1556 Shaanxi (M8.0), 1626 Lingqiu (M7.0), 1695 Linfen (M7.8), 1815 Pinglu (M6.8)
Sierra Nevada Fault California, United States Normal Active 1872 Lone Pine (M7.4–8.3)
Skyros-Edremit Fault zone >150 Aegean Sea, Greece, Turkey Dextral strike-slip Active 1967, 1981
Sobral Fault Brazil Strike-slip
Sorong fault Oceania Sinistral strike-slip Active 2009 Kepulauan Talaud (M7.2)
South Tibetan Detachment 2000 Himalaya Detachment (normal) Paleogene
Southeast Bathurst Fault Zone Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada Rift zone Late Cretaceous to Eocene
Sparta Fault 65 Peloponnese, Greece Normal Active 464 BC Sparta (M7.2)
Spili Fault 20 Crete, Greece Normal Active
Strabo Trench 300 Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Hellenic Trench Sinistral strike-slip Active
Sunda subduction megathrust 5500 South East Asia Subduction zone Active 1833 Mentawai Islands (M9.2), 2004 Banda Aceh (M9.3), 2005 Nias (M8.6), 2007 Bengkulu (M8.4)
Tacoma Fault 56 Washington, United States Thrust fault Active
Tatsuda Fault Japan Active 1889 Kumamoto (M6.3)
Tintina Fault British Columbia, Canada to Alaska, United States Strike-slip Late Cretaceous to Oligocene
Ulakhan Fault Siberia to Aleutian Trench Sinistral strike-slip Active
Ungava Fault Zone Davis Strait Strike-slip Paleogene
Virginia seismic zones Virginia, United States Active 2011 Virginia (M5.8)
Wabash Valley seismic zone Illinois, Indiana, United States Normal Active 2008 Illinois (M5.4)
Wasatch Fault Utah, United States Normal Active 2020 Salt Lake City (M5.7)
Wellington Fault >100 North Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active
West Napa Fault 60 California, United States Dextral Active 2000 Yountville, 2014 South Napa
Wairarapa Fault >100 North Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active 1855 Wairarapa (M8.2)
Wairau Fault 180 South Island, New Zealand Dextral strike-slip Active
White Wolf Fault San Joaquin Valley, California, United States Oblique-reverse (sinstral) Active 1952 Kern County (M7.5)
Whittier Fault California, United States Strike-slip Active
Wilzetta Fault 89 Oklahoma, United States Strike-slip Active 2011 Oklahoma (M5.6)
Xianshuihe fault system 350 China Sinistral strike-slip Active 1973 Luhuo (M7.6), 1981 Dawu (M6.8), 2010 Yushu (M6.9), 2022 Luding (M6.7)
Yorba Linda Trend California, United States Oblique-slip Active 2008 Chino Hills (M5.5)

See also

References

  1. ^ Yeats, R. (2012), Active Faults of the World, Cambridge University Press, p. 23, ISBN 978-0521190855
  2. ^ "GNS Science, Alpine Fault". Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd.
  3. ^ Bendick, R.; Bilham, R.; Freymueller, J.; Larson, K.; andYin, G. (2000). "Geodetic evidence for a low slip rate in the Altyn Tagh fault system". Nature. 404 (6773): 69–72. Bibcode:2000Natur.404...69B. doi:10.1038/35003555. PMID 10716442. S2CID 4340488.
  4. ^ Okal, EA (2009). "The 1956 earthquake and tsunami in Amorgos, Greece". Geophysical Journal International. 178 (3): 1533–1554. Bibcode:2009GeoJI.178.1533O. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04237.x.
  5. ^ White, RA (1985). "The Guatemala earthquake of 1816 on the Chixoy-Polochic fault". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 75 (2): 455–73.
  6. ^ a b c Jessica Thompson Jobe, Richard W. Briggs, Uri ten Brink, Thomas L. Pratt, Kenneth Stephen Hughes, Alexandra E. Hatem, Christopher B. DuRoss, Nadine G. Reitman, Julie A. Herrick, Sylvia Nicovich, Camille M. Collett, Katherine M. Scharer, Stephen B. DeLong; Geologic Input Databases for the 2025 Puerto Rico—U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model Update: Crustal Faults Component. Seismological Research Letters 2024;; 96 (2A): 1018–1044. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220230222
  7. ^ "M 7.2 - 164 km ESE of Beauséjour, Guadeloupe". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  8. ^ "M 7.5 - 25 km NW of Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  9. ^ "M 7.7 - 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  10. ^ Frost, Erik; Dolan, James; Sammis, Charles; Hacker, Brad; Cole, Joshua; Ratschbacher, Lothar (15 April 2009). "Progressive strain localization in a major strike-slip fault exhumed from midseismogenic depths: Structural observations from the Salzach-Ennstal-Mariazell-Puchberg fault system, Austria". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (B4): 1–14. Bibcode:2009JGRB..114.4406F. doi:10.1029/2008JB005763.
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