The North Anatolian Fault |
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![]() The Anatolian plate is escaping westward from between the vise of the converging Arabian and Eurasian plates. Anatolia is bounded by the right-lateral and left-lateral pair of the North Anatolian Faults (NAF) and East Anatolian Fault (EAF) on the top and bottom, respectively. The Marmara Sea is in the boxed area.Source: Amijo et al., 2002. |
![]() Detailed GPS surveys demonstrate the counterclockwise rotation of the Anatolia plate. The arrows, show that relative to a stationary Eurasia there is ~25 mm/y of motion across the North Anatolian Fault (red) and the Marmara Sea (colored box). Source: McCluskey et al., 2000. |
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The North Anatolian Fault is a large transform fault in which two tectonic plates are sliding past each other. It is smilar is size to the San Andreas Fault. Both are also boundaries near a continental margin (Black Sea and Pacific Ocean). Note that both the Salton Sea and the Marmara Sea near Istanbul are extensional basins where the crust is being pull apart. Source: USGS, 2000. |
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Over the last 60 years, the North Anatolian Fault has ruptured in a series of destructive earthquakes with an overall propagation from east to west. The Marmara Sea is the only major gap along the North Anatolian Fault. |