Geomorphology and seismotectonic elements in the giarre area,sicily

A morphostructural analysis has been performed on the eastern flank of Mt Etna, located between the towns of St. Alfio and Linera and the Ionian Sea. The research has been carried out through analysis of aerial photographs, and has allowed recognition of morphoneotectonic elements such as: some scarps with rectilinear trend, laterally becoming morphological flexures, according to the lithology; anomalies in the hydrographic network, such as rectilinear tracts of drainage, valleys with simple or double bends, hanging valleys and truncated valleys, narrow deeply engraved valleys with meanders and fluvial captures. All these elements are caused by a fault system oriented NNW–SSE, with a mainly vertical component. Seismic events with very shallow foci have been recorded in the study area; these earthquakes triggered several small landslides on the fault scarps and large series of coseismic and coaxial fractures. It is possible to show that the morphostructures examined have been reactivated during many of the seismic events that have occurred in the area. The combination of these elements verifies that the morphostructures have a real neotectonic cause, which is associated with uplifts which have occurred in the area at different times.