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

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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 1km north of the topographic boundary between the Katrol Hill and the plain area. The fault exposure along the left bank of Khari River with 10m 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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. OYO International Corporation, Rokubancho Kyodo Bldg. 2F, 6 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 102-0085

    Michio Morino & Fumio Kaneko

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208 016, India

    Javed N. Malik, Prashant Mishra & Chandrashekhar Bhuiyan

Authors
  1. Michio Morino
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  2. Javed N. Malik
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  3. Prashant Mishra
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  4. Chandrashekhar Bhuiyan
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  5. Fumio Kaneko
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Correspondence to Michio Morino.

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Morino, M., Malik, J.N., Mishra, P. et al. Active fault traces along Bhuj Fault and Katrol Hill Fault, and trenching survey at Wandhay, Kachchh, Gujarat, India. J Earth Syst Sci 117, 181–188 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-008-0022-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-008-0022-1

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