Tanyeri-Yedisu seismic gap along the Erzincan-Varto section of the North Anatolian Fault: Age, displacement, slip rate and return period in Eastern Türkiye
GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, vol.77, no.3, pp.237-253, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 77 Issue: 3
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.31577/geolcarp.2026.12
- Journal Name: GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Geobase, Directory of Open Access Journals, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Collection (ProQuest)
- Page Numbers: pp.237-253
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No
Abstract
The study area is situated in the easternmost segment of the North Anatolian Fault System (NAFS), including the Karl & imath;ova triple junction (KTJ) where the NAFS intersects the East Anatolian Fault System (EAFS). The regional angular unconformity between intensely deformed pre-Quaternary rocks and the overlying undeformed neotectonic deposits clearly indicates that the onset of the strike-slip neotectonic regime and the formation of the related structures, namely the NAFS and EAFS, occurred in the early Quaternary (2.588 Myr). The present study focuses on the long-term (241-year) Tanyeri-Yedisu seismic gap, the onset age of the strike-slip neotectonic regime, and several key parameters of the Erzincan-Varto section of the NAFS. These are total dextral displacement, average slip rate, and the return period of the peak earthquake expected from the Tanyeri-Yedisu seismic gap. New field data, obtained from the detailed field geological mapping of the region, using the displacement of the Inner Tauride Suture as a structural marker and the Yedisu River as a geographic marker, clearly show that the total dextral displacement is 57 km. This offset was accumulated over an approximately a 2.6 Myr time interval. These values correspond to an average slip rate of 22 mm/yr and a return period of 205 +/- 50 years for the peak earthquake originating from the Tanyeri-Yedisu seismic gap.