List of fault zones

This list covers all faults and fault-systems that are either geologically important or connected to prominent seismic activity. It is not intended to list every notable fault, but only major fault zones.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Fault Name	Length [km]	Location	Sense of Movement	Time of movement	Associated Earthquakes
Aedipsos-Kandili Fault	60	North Euboean Gulf, Greece	Normal	Active
Alaska-Aleutian Megathrust	3600	Kamchatka, Russia to Gulf of Alaska	Subduction zone	Active	1964 Prince William Sound (M9.2), 1965 Rat Islands (M8.7), 1957 Andreanof Islands (M8.6)
Alpine Fault	1400	South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	2009 Fiordland (M7.8)
Altyn Tagh Fault	1200	Tibetan Plateau/Tarim Basin	Sinistral strike-slip	Active
Amfilochia Fault	60	Western Greece	Sinistral strike-slip	Active
Amorgos Fault	>100	Greece, South Aegean Sea	Normal	Active	1956 Amorgos (M7.4)[1]
Arkitsa – Agios Konstantinos Fault zone	25	Central Greece	Normal
Aspy Fault	40	Nova Scotia	Strike-slip
Atacama Fault	800	Atacama desert, Chile	Strike-slip	Active
Atalanti Fault	50	Central Greece	Normal Fault	Active	1894 Atalanti (M6.4, M6.9)
Atotsugawa Fault		Japan	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1858 Hietsu earthquake (M~7)
Awatere Fault		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1848 Marlborough (M7.5)
Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault	2250	Azores to Strait of Gibraltar	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1755 Lisbon earthquake (est. M7.5–8.0), 1969 Cape St. Vincent (M7.9), 1941 Gloria Fault (M8.0)
Baikal Rift Zone		Lake Baikal	Rift zone	Active
Ballenas Fault		Gulf of California, United States	Transform	Active
Brothers Fault Zone		Oregon, United States
Cascadia megathrust	1000	West coast of United States – Oregon & Washington Vancouver Island Canada	Subduction zone	Active	1700 Cascadia (M9.0)
Central African Shear Zone	4000	Central Africa	Rift zone
Cerro Prieto Fault		Gulf of California, United States	Transform	Active
Chixoy-Polochic Fault		Guatemala	Transform	Active	1816 Guatemala (M7.5)[2]
Christchurch Fault		South Island, New Zealand		Active
Chile subduction megathrust	3000	West coast of Chile	Subduction zone	Active	1960 Valdivia (M9.5); 1906 Valparaiso (M8.2); 2010 Maule (M8.8); 2014 Iquique (M8.2)
Clarence Fault		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Clarendon-Linden fault system		New York, United States
Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault		California, United States
Cochabamba Fault Zone		Bolivia	Sinistral strike-slip
Corinth Rift	110	Greece	Normal Fault	Active	1995 Aegion (M6.2); 1981 Alkyonides; 1861 Helike; 373 BC Helike
Craven Fault System		Pennines	Normal Fault	Carboniferous
Darling Fault	950-1500	Western Australia, Australia		Proterozoic
Dead Sea Transform		Sinai Peninsula	Sinistral transform	Active	1138 Aleppo earthquake
Delfi Fault Zone	25	Central Greece	Normal to strike-slip
Denali Fault		British Columbia, Canada to Alaska, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active	2002 Denali (M7.9)
East Anatolian Fault		Turkey	Strike-slip	Active	2003 Bingöl (M6.4), 2010 Elâzığ (M6.1)
Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone		Alabama to Virginia, United States		Active	2003 Alabama (M4.6)
Elsinore Fault Zone	180	California, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Eltanin Fault System		Southern Ocean	Dextral transform	Active	1600 km offset
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone		Hispaniola	Sinistral strike-slip	Active	2010 Haiti (M7.0)
Glarus thrust		Switzerland	Thrust fault	Cenozoic
Great Glen Fault		Scotland	Strike-slip	Silurian to Cenozoic
Great Lakes Tectonic Zone (GLTZ)	1,400	Great Lakes, United States	Tectonic zone	Neoarchean
Great Sumatran Fault		Sumatra, Indonesia	Strike-slip	Active	1943 Alahan Panjang (M7.2), 1994 Liwa (M7.0)
Greendale Fault		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	2010 Canterbury (M7.1)
Guaymas Fault	325	California, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Gulf of California Rift Zone	1300	Mexico	Rift zone	Active	2010 Mexicali (M7.2)
Hayward Fault Zone	119	San Francisco Bay, California, United States	Strike-slip	Active	1868 Hayward (M6.3–6.7)
Hellenic Arc	1000	East Mediterranean Sea	Thrust/Strike-slip		365 AD (M8.5+); 1303 AD (~8)
Honey Lake Fault Zone		Nevada and California, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Hope Fault		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1888 North Canterbury (M7.3)
Humboldt Fault Zone		Nebraska to Kansas, United States	Normal fault	Active	1867 Manhattan, Kansas (M5.1)
Imperial Fault Zone		California, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1940 El Centro (M6.9), 1979 Imperial Valley (M6.4)
Ierapetra Fault	40	Crete	Normal Fault
Independence Valley fault system		Nevada, United States	Normal fault	Active	2008 Wells earthquake (M6.0)
Kameni-Kolumbo Fault zone	>60	Greece, South Aegean Sea	Dextral (?) Strike-slip
Kandi Fault Zone		West Africa
Karsdorf Fault		Germany
Kego Fault		Japan		Active	2005 Fukuoka (M7.0)
Kefalonia Transform Fault	180	Greece, Ionian Sea	Dextral strike Slip	Active	1953 Kephalonia (M7.2)
Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone		New Zealand	Subduction zone	Active
Kern Canyon Fault		Sierra Nevada, California, United States	Thrust fault
Kunlun fault	1500	Tibet	Sinistral strike-slip	Active	2001 Kunlun (M7.8)
Laguna Salada Fault	64–80	United States and Mexico	Strike-slip	Active	2010 Mexicali M7.2)
Laptev Sea Rift		Arctic Ocean	Rift zone
Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault	1000	Andes, Chile	Strike-slip
Long Point–Eureka Heights Fault System		Texas, United States	Normal fault
Longmen Shan Fault		Sichuan, China	Thrust fault	Active	2008 Sichuan (M8.0)
Lusatian Fault		Germany	Thrust fault
Macquarie Fault Zone		South Pacific Ocean	Strike-slip	Active	2008 Macquarie Island earthquake (M7.1)
Magallanes–Fagnano Fault		South America	Transform
Main Uralian Fault (MUF)	2000+	Urals	Subduction zone
Marianna Fault		Arkansas, United States
Marikina Valley Fault System		Philippines	Dextral strike-slip	active
Marlborough Fault System		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1843 Wanganui (M~7.5)
Meers Fault		Oklahoma	Oblique slipe	Active	Holocene
Mendocino Fracture Zone		California, United States	Transform	Active
Moab Fault		Utah, United States	Normal fault	Active
Mocha Fracture Zone		Mocha Island, Chile	Transform	Active
Motagua Fault		Guatemala	Transform	Active	1717, 1773, 1902, 1976, 1980, 2009
Mygdonia Graben		North Greece	Normal to strike-slip	Active	1978 Thessaloniki (M6.4)
Neodani Fault		Japan		Active	1891 Mino–Owari (M8.0)
New Madrid Fault Zone		Missouri, United States	Normal fault	Active	1811–1812 three (M7-8)
Nootka Fault		British Columbia, Canada	Transform	Active
North Aegean Trough	>250	North Aegean Sea, Greece, Turkey	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1912 (M7.6); 1982 (M6.7); 2014 (M6.9)
North Anatolian Fault		Turkey	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1939 Erzincan (M7.8), 1912 Ganos (M7.4), 1999 Izmit (M7.4), 1999 Düzce (M7.2)
North Ikaria Fault	>80	Central Aegean Sea, Greece	Dextral strike slip
North Island Fault System	500	North Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike slip	Active
Palu-Koro Fault	500	Palu, Sigi, Donggala, Indonesia	Sinistral strike-slip	Active	2005 Bora, Sigi earthquake (M6.2), 2018 Sulawesi earthquake (M7.5)
Periadriatic Seam	1000	Alps, Europe	Dextral strike-slip
Pichilemu Fault	40	Chile		Active	2010 Pichilemu (Libertador O'Higgins) (M6.9)
Pliny Trench	300	Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Hellenic Trench	Sinistral strike-slip
Port Hills Fault		South Island, New Zealand		Active	2011 Christchurch (M6.3)
Pyramid Lake Fault Zone		Nevada, United States	Dextral strike-slip
Ramapo Fault	300	New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, United States	Normal fault	Triassic to Early Jurassic
Raymond Fault		California, United States
Red Sea Rift		Red Sea	Rift zone
Reigolil-Pirihueico Fault		Andes
Rhine Rift Valley		Germany and France	Rift zone	Active	1356 Basel (M6 to 7)
Rio Grande Rift		Rio Grande Valley, United States and Mexico	Rift zone
Salzach-Ennstal-Mariazell-Puchberg Fault System (SEMP)	400[3]	Austria	Sinistral strike-slip
San Andreas Fault System (Banning fault, Mission Creek fault, South Pass fault, San Jacinto fault, Elsinore fault)	1300	California, United States	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1906 San Francisco (M7.7 to 8.25), 1989 Loma Prieta (M6.9)
San Ramón Fault		Chile	Thrust fault
Sawtooth Fault		Idaho, United States	Normal fault
Seattle Fault		Washington, United States	Thrust fault	Active
Septentrional-Orient fault zone		Caribbean	Sinistral strike-slip	Active	1842 Cap-Haïtien (M8.1)
Sierra Nevada Fault		California, United States	Normal fault	Active	1872 Lone Pine (M7.4–8.3)
Skyros-Edremit Fault zone	>150	Aegean Sea, Greece, Turkey	Dextral Strike-slip	Active	1967, 1981
Sobral Fault		Brazil	Strike-slip
Sorong fault		Oceania	Sinistral strike-slip	Active	2009 Kepulauan Talaud (M7.2)
Sparta Fault	65	Peloponnese, Greece	Normal fault	Active	464 BC Sparta (M7.2)
Spili Fault	20	Crete, Greece	Normal fault	Active
Strabo Trench	300	Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Hellenic Trench	Sinistral strike-slip	Active
Sunda subduction megathrust	5000	South East Asia	Subduction zone	Active	2004 Banda Aceh (M9.1), 2005 Nias (M8.6), 2007 Bengkulu (M8.4)
Tacoma Fault	56	Washington, United States	Thrust fault	Active
Tatsuda Fault		Japan		Active	1889 Kumamoto (M6.3)
Tintina Fault		British Columbia, Canadato Alaska, United States	Strike-slip	Late Cretaceous to Oligocene
Ulakhan Fault		Siberia to Aleutian Trench	Sinistral strike-slip	Active
Virginia Seismic Zone		Virginia, United States		Active	2011 Virginia (M5.8)
Wabash Valley Seismic Zone		Illinois, Indiana, United States	Normal fault	Active	2008 Illinois (M5.4)
Wasatch Fault		Utah, United States	Normal fault	Active
Wellington Fault		North Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Wairarapa Fault		North Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active	1855 Wairarapa (M8.2)
Wairau Fault		South Island, New Zealand	Dextral strike-slip	Active
Wilzetta Fault	89	Oklahoma, United States	Strike-slip	Active	2011 Oklahoma (M5.6)

See also

• Lists of earthquakes
• Tectonics

References

1. Okal, EA (2009). "The 1956 earthquake and tsunami in Amorgos, Greece". Geophysical Journal International. 178 (3): 1533–1554. Bibcode:2009GeoJI.178.1533O. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04237.x.
2. White, RA (1985). "The Guatemala earthquake of 1816 on the Chixoy-Polochic fault". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 75 (2): 455–73.
3. Frost, Erik; Dolan, James; Sammis, Charles; Hacker, Brad; Cole, Joshua; Ratschbacher, Lothar (15 April 2009). "Progressive strain localization in a major strike‐slip fault exhumed from midseismogenic depths: Structural observations from the Salzach‐Ennstal‐Mariazell‐Puchberg fault system, Austria". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (B4): 1–14. Bibcode:2009JGRB..11404406F. doi:10.1029/2008JB005763.