The Holocene Activity and Strike-Slip Rate of the Southern Segment of Xiaojiang Fault in the Southeastern Yunnan Region, China

The southern segment of the Xiaojiang Fault(SSXF) is located at the intersection of the Xianshuihe-Xiaojiang Fault and Red River-Ailao Shan fault systems in the southeast margin of the Tibetan plateau. Based on the interpretation of remote sensing image, the SSXF clearly shows the linear feature and continuous distribution as a single, penetrating fault. It has a total length of about 70km, trends generally about 20° to the northeast and protrudes slightly in the middle to the east. A typically geomorphologic phenomenon about the synchronous left-lateral dislocation of ridges and gullies can be found at Liangchahe, Longtan Village along the SSXF. The distribution of faults, the sedimentary features, attitude variance and the primary dating results of the offset strata in the trench section across fault sag ponds reveal three paleoseismic events rupturing obviously the surface, which demonstrates that the SSXF has the ability of recurrence of strong earthquakes. High-precision topographic map about two gullies and the platform between them with synchronous dislocation is acquired by using the Trimble 5800 GPS real-time difference measurement system. The dislocation is (18.3±0.5)m. As the top geomorphologic surface between the above two gullies and their adjacent area, the terrace surface T2 stopped accepting deposits at ~2606a, based on the linear regression analysis of three dating data. According to the geological method, a sinistral strike-slip rate of (7.02±0.20)mm/a on the SSXF in the Holocene is obtained, which has a good consistency with the results provided by using GPS data. The preliminary results about the Holocene activity and slip rate of the SSXF demonstrate that the southward or south-southeast motion of the Sichuan-Yunnan block in the SE Yunnan region has not been absorbed by the possible shortening deformation and the sinistral strike-slip rate of the SSXF has not been drastically reduced. The SSXF is a Holocene fault with obvious activity. This preliminary understanding provides some basic geological data for the seismic risk evaluation of the SSXF in the future, and for the establishment and inspection of the seismotectonic model about the Sichuan-Yunnan block. © 2017, Editorial Office of Seismology and Geology. All right reserved.