Seismotectonic environment of occurring the February 3, 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, Yunnan Province

Introduction The surface rupture and aftershocks of the February 3, 1996 Lijiang earthquake are basically distributed along the N-S-trending Lijiang-Daju fault, which is boundary fault between Lijiang Quaternary, fault controlled basin and Yulong-Haba range (ZHANG, et al, 1997). Corresponding to the surface geological features, the focal rupture of the Lijiang earthquake also shows large component of dip-slip. It is of great difference from that of other earthquakes in west Yunnan, in w…

Seismotectonic environment of occurring the February 3, 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, Yunnan Province

Lijiang-Daju fault, the seismogenic fault of the 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, can be divided into Lijiang-Yuhu segment in the south and Yuhu-Daju segment in the north. The two segments show clear difference in geological tectonics, but have the similar dynamic features. Both normal dip-slip and sinistral strike-slip coexist on the fault plane. This kind of movement started at the beginning of the Quaternary (2.4~2.5 Ma B.P.). As to the tectonic types, the detachment fault with low angle was developed in the Early Pleistocene and the normal fault with high angle only after the Mid-Pleistocene (0.8 Ma B.P.). Based on the horizontal displacements of gullies and the vertical variance of planation surfaces cross the Lijiang-Daju fault at east piedmont of Yulong-Haba range, the average horizontal and vertical slip rates are calculated. They are 0.84 mm/a and 0.70 mm/a since the Quaternary and 1.56 mm/a and 1.69 mm/a since the Mid-Pleistocene. The movements of the nearly N-S-trending Lijiang-Daju fault are controlled not only by the regional stress field, but also by the variant movement between the Yulong-Haba range and Lijiang basin. The two kinds of dynamic processes form the characteristics of seismotectonic environment of occurring the 1996 Lijiang earthquake.