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North Anatolian Fault

Turkish seismic strike-slip fault


Turkish seismic strike-slip fault

FieldValue
nameNorth Anatolian Fault
imageSlip-dist.png
image_size270px
image_altThe North Anatolian Fault and slip magnitudes of earthquakes in the 20th century
image_captionThe North Anatolian Fault and slip magnitudes of earthquakes in the 20th century
country
regionMarmara region, Black Sea Region, Eastern Anatolia region
citiesIstanbul, Bursa, Kocaeli, Bolu, Tokat, Erzincan, Erzurum
coordinates
elevation_m3937
topdepth_m1370
rangePontic Mountains, Köroğlu Mountains
length1500 km
strikeE-W
plateAnatolian sub-plate, Eurasian plate
statusActive
earthquakesList of earthquakes in Turkey
typestrike-slip fault
map_imageAnatolian Plate Vectoral.svg
map_size270
map_captionThe North Anatolian and neighbouring faults covering most of Turkey

| volcanic_arc/belt =

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF; ) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian sub-plate. The fault extends westward from a junction with the East Anatolian Fault at the Karliova triple junction in eastern Turkey, across northern Turkey and into the Aegean Sea for a length of 1200−1500 kilometers. It runs about 20 km south of Istanbul. The North Anatolian Fault is similar in many ways to the San Andreas Fault in California. Both are continental transforms with similar lengths and slip rates. The Sea of Marmara near Istanbul is an extensional basin similar to the Salton Trough in California, where a releasing bend in the strike slip system creates a pull-apart basin.

Significant earthquakes

Since the disastrous 1939 Erzincan earthquake, there have been seven earthquakes measuring over 7.0 in magnitude, each happening at a point progressively further west. Seismologists studying this pattern believe that each earthquake may trigger the next. By analyzing the stresses along the fault caused by each large earthquake, they were able to predict the shock that hit the town of İzmit with devastating effect in August 1999. It is thought that the chain is not complete, and that an earthquake will soon strike further west along the fault – perhaps near the heavily populated city of Istanbul.

EventMoment magnitudeCasualties
1929 Suşehri6.3last1=Demirtaşfirst1=Ramazantitle=Kuzey Anadolu Fay Sistemi Diri Fayları ve Deprem Etkinlikleri Paleosismolojik Çalışmalar ve Gelecek Deprem Potansiyelleritrans-title=Northern Anatolian Fault System Active Faults and Earthquake Activities Paleoseismological Studies and Future Earthquake Potentialsurl=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331772444date=2019archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509141911/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ramazan-Demirtas/publication/331772444_Kuzey_Anadolu_Fay_Sistemi_Diri_Faylari_ve_Deprem_Etkinlikleri_Paleosismolojik_Calismalar_ve_Gelecek_Deprem_Potansiyelleri/links/5c8b635792851c1df941bc74/Kuzey-Anadolu-Fay-Sistemi-Diri-Faylari-ve-Deprem-Etkinlikleri-Paleosismolojik-Calismalar-ve-Gelecek-Deprem-Potansiyelleri.pdf?origin=publication_detailarchive-date=9 May 2021language=trdoi=10.13140/RG.2.2.36608.69125}}
1939 Erzincan7.832,700+ dead and 100,000+ injured
1942 Niksar–Erbaa7.0~3,000 dead
1943 Tosya–Ladik7.22,824 dead
1944 Bolu–Gerede7.23,959 dead
1949 Karlıova6.7320 dead
1951 Kurşunlu6.950 dead and 3,354 injured
1957 Abant7.152 dead
1966 Varto6.92,394 dead and 1,489 injured
1967 Mudurnu Valley7.186 dead, 332 injured
1992 Erzincan6.7498+ dead and 2,000+ injured
1999 İzmit7.618,373 dead and 43,953+ injured
1999 Düzce7.2845+ dead and 4,948 injured
2022 Düzce6.12 dead and 93 injured
2025 Sea of Marmara6.2165 injured

Notes

References

  1. (2005). "The North Anatolian Fault: A new look". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
  2. Caperton Morton, Mary. (8 March 2010). "Closing Istanbul's seismic gap".
  3. USGS Worldwide Earthquake List. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
  4. (1997). "Progressive failure on the North Anatolian fault since 1939 by earthquake stress triggering". [[Geophysical Journal International]].
  5. (April 1, 2003). "Earthquake Storms". [[Horizon (BBC TV series).
  6. (2019). "Kuzey Anadolu Fay Sistemi Diri Fayları ve Deprem Etkinlikleri Paleosismolojik Çalışmalar ve Gelecek Deprem Potansiyelleri".
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