Atacama Fault

The Atacama Fault Zone (AFZ) is an extensive system of faults cutting across the Chilean Coastal Cordillera in Northern Chile between the Andean Mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. The fault system is north–south striking and runs for more than 1100 km North and up to 50 km in width through the Andean forearc region.^[1] The zone is a direct result of the ongoing subduction of the Eastward moving Nazca plate beneath the South American plate and is believed to have formed in the Early Jurassic during the beginnings of the Andean orogeny. The zone can be split into 3 regions: the North, Central and South.