Active fault traces along Bhuj Fault and Katrol Hill Fault, and trenching survey at Wandhay, Kachchh, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Several new active fault traces were identified along Katrol Hill Fault (KHF). A new fault (named as Bhuj Fault, BF) that extends into the Bhuj Plain was also identified. These fault traces were identified based on satellite photo interpretation and field survey. Trenches were excavated to identify the paleoseismic events, pattern of faulting and the nature of deformation. New active fault traces were recognized about 1 km north of the topographic boundary between the Katrol Hill and the plain area. The fault exposure along the left bank of Khari River with 10 m wide shear zone in the Mesozoic rocks and showing displacement of the overlying Quaternary deposits is indicative of continued tectonic activity along the ancient fault. The E-W trending active fault traces along the KHF in the western part changes to NE-SW or ENE-WSW near Wandhay village.Trenching survey across a low scarp near Wandhay village reveals three major fault strands F1, F2, and F3. These fault strands displaced the older terrace deposits comprising Sand, Silt and Gravel units along with overlying younger deposits from units 1 to 5 made of gravel, sand and silt. Stratigraphic relationship indicates at least three large magnitude earthquakes along KHF during Late Holocene or recent historic past.

Response of a dryland fluvial system to climate–tectonic perturbations during the Late Quaternary: Evidence from Rukmawati River basin, Kachchh, western India

“…The tectonically active nature of the northern part of the Katrol Hill Fault Range has been explicitly discussed by earlier researchers (Rajenderan and Rajenderan 2001;Patidar et al 2007;Morino et al 2008;Kundu et al 2010;Rastogi et al 2012). However, the tectonic scenario along the southern part of the Katrol Hill Fault Range comprising the present study area is least investigated.…”

“…The geomorphic setup of Kachchh indicates a strong structural control on the landscape evolution owing to the presence of several E-W trending faults . Several studies have documented the tectono-geomorphic and palaeoseismological signatures of active faulting from KHF and southern Kachchh mainland Thakkar et al 2006;Patidar et al 2007Patidar et al , 2008; Morino et al 2008;Kundu et al 2010). Contrastingly, there have been few studies which have documented the climatic signals from the landscape of Kachchh.…”

Joints as fingerprints of stress in the quaternary carbonate deposits along coastal Saurashtra, Western India

“…Recent seismic activities in the Jamnagar and Junagadh districts of Saurashtra have also drawn the attention of earth scientists towards neotectonic phenomena. This is especially so because visible active faults are absent in Saurashtra, unlike those observed in the Kachchh (Morino et al 2008;Patidar et al 2008). Structures such as joints, fractures and lineaments in the younger geological deposits can provide useful information about neotectonics and help understand orientations of stresses.…”

Earthquake interevent time distribution in Kachchh, Northwestern India

“…For instance, the most disastrous Mw 7.7 (intensity X+ on the modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale) Republic Day Bhuj earthquake along the NWF (08:46 IST, January 26, 2001;epicentral location: 23.412°N, 70.232°E; focal depth: 23 km) caused 13,819 human deaths, US $10 billion economic loss, and damaged over one million houses . Another large event, the 1819 Rann of Kachchh earthquake (Mw 7.8), occurred along the ABF and created fault scarp approximately 4 to 6 m high in this region (Rajendran and Rajendran 2001;Morino et al 2008). The Anjar 1956 (Mw 6.0) event occurred along the KF (Chung and Gao 1995).…”

“…The intensities, casualties, and fault characteristics of some of these earthquakes have been studied in detail (Chung and Gao 1995;Rajendran and Rajendran 2001;Rastogi , 2004Negishi et al 2002;Mandal et al 2005;Mandal and Horton 2007;Morino et al 2008;Kayal et al 2012). The 16 June 1819 great Rann of Kachchh earthquake (Mw 7.8; intensity XI on MMI scale) that occurred near the northwestern international border (~100 km northwest of Bhuj town) rumbled the entire region, causing 1500 deaths in Kachchh and 500 in Ahmedabad (~250 km from epicenter).…”