| Abstract: | Intraplate earthquakes in North China are characterized by shallow depth, large magnitude and high frequency. Obviously, the zonal distribution of earthquakes is closely related to recent active faults and Cenozoic graben and rift systems.The active faults are mainly oriented NNE with right-lateral movements, and partially oriented NW with left-lateral movements.The Hetao-Yinchuan graben, Fenhe-Weihe graben and North China Plain rift systems often reflect crustal thinning and mantle uplift.According to the data concerning crustal deformation, particularly the movement patterns of faulting, crustal taphrogenesis and earthquake surface rupture, it is suggested that a shearing-extension mechanism could be considered as a cause of the formation of seismotectonic structures in North China since the Early Cenozoic Era.Graben and rift systems also developed in Northeast and South China. They formed earlier than the graben and rift systems in North China, however, and their activity has decreased during the Quaternary period. It is reasonable that the seismicity in Northeast and South China is not as strong as that in North China. |
