Geometry and Late Quaternary Kinematic Characteristics of the Huoshan Fault in Shanxi Province

The Huoshan fault is an important fault controlling the boundary of the Linfen basin at the middle transtensional segment of the Shanxi graben system.In this paper a discussion is made emphatically on the tectonic segmentation of the Huoshan fault,its internal geometric structures and characteristics of its activities since the late Quaternary on the basis of 1:10,000 scale geological mapping.Our investigations indicate that the Huoshan fault can be divided into 3 segments with different behaviors and structures.Among these 3,the shear segment with dextral movement is composed of a number of second-order shear faults in right-lateral stepover or left-lateral stepover arrangement.It has a maximum dextral displacement up to 9.83 km since the Pliocene,a dextral slip rate of 2.0 mm/a; a maximum vertical differential displacement of 3.44 km,and a differential oscillatory movement rate of 0.69 mm/a.The lower limit of dextral Holocene slip rate is about 5 mm/a.

Geometry and Late Quaternary Kinematic Characteristics of the Huoshan Fault in Shanxi Province

The Huoshan fault is an important fault controlling the boundary of the Linfen basin at the middle transtensional segment of the Shanxi graben system.In this paper a discussion is made emphatically on the tectonic segmentation of the Huoshan fault,its internal geometric structures and characteristics of its activities since the late Quaternary on the basis of 1:10,000 scale geological mapping.Our investigations indicate that the Huoshan fault can be divided into 3 segments with different behaviors and structures.Among these 3,the shear segment with dextral movement is composed of a number of second-order shear faults in right-lateral stepover or left-lateral stepover arrangement.It has a maximum dextral displacement up to 9.83 km since the Pliocene,a dextral slip rate of 2.0 mm/a; a maximum vertical differential displacement of 3.44 km,and a differential oscillatory movement rate of 0.69 mm/a.The lower limit of dextral Holocene slip rate is about 5 mm/a.