Shanxi Rift System

Map of the Shanxi Rift System along the eastern margin of the Ordos Block

The Shanxi Rift System or Fen–Wei Rift System[1] is a zone of active extensional tectonics that forms the eastern margin of the Ordos Block in northern China. The zone extends for at least 900 km (560 mi) and runs south-southwest to north-northeast. The individual rift basins that make up the rift system have an overall en echelon geometry, consistent with a right lateral sense of strike-slip displacement across the zone.[2] The basins contain a thick sedimentary sequence of Neogene age, which ranges from 2.0 to 3.8 km (1.2 to 2.4 mi) in thickness. The rift system is continuous with the Weihe Basin to the southwest, which became active during the Paleogene. Rupture of the major normal faults that bound the Weihe and Shanxi rift basins has caused many large and damaging historical earthquakes, including the 1303 Hongdong (>200,000 deaths),[3] 1556 Shaanxi (830,000 deaths),[4] 1626 Lingqiu (>5,200 deaths),[5] 1695 Linfen (>52,600 deaths)[6] and 1815 Pinglu (>13,000 deaths) events.[7][8]

  1. ^ Peltzer, G.; Tapponier, P.; Zhitao, Z.; Qin, X.Z. (1985). "Neogene and Quaternary faulting in and along the Qinling Shan". Nature. 317 (6037): 500–505. Bibcode:1985Natur.317..500P. doi:10.1038/317500a0. S2CID 4358604.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shi_etal_2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Xu, Yueren; He, Honglin; Deng, Qidong; Allen, Mark B.; Sun, Haoyue; Bi, Lisi (2018), "The CE 1303 Hongdong Earthquake and the Huoshan Piedmont Fault, Shanxi Graben: Implications for Magnitude Limits of Normal Fault Earthquakes" (PDF), Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 123 (4): 3098–3121, Bibcode:2018JGRB..123.3098X, doi:10.1002/2017JB014928
  4. ^ Du, Jianjun; Li, Dunpeng; Wang, Yufang; Ma, Yinsheng (2017). "Late Quaternary Activity of the Huashan Piedmont Fault and Associated Hazards in the Southeastern Weihe Graben, Central China". Acta Geologica Sinica. 91 (1): 76–92. Bibcode:2017AcGlS..91...76D. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.13064.
  5. ^ National Geophysical Data Center (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information 1626". National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  6. ^ Pradeep Talwani (2015). "5". Intraplate Earthquakes (PDF). Cambridge University Press.
  7. ^ National Geophysical Data Center (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information 1815". National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
  8. ^ Li, B.; Sørensen, B.; Atakan, K. (2015). "Coulomb stress evolution in the Shanxi rift system, North China, since 1303 associated with coseismic, post-seismic and interseismic deformation". Geophysical Journal International. 203 (3): 1642–1664. doi:10.1093/gji/ggv384.