Prepared under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International 

Development 

Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, 

with Annotated Bibliography 

By Russell L. Wheeler, Charles G. Bufe, Margo L. Johnson, and Richard L. Dart 

Open-File Report 2005–1264 

This report is USGS Afghanistan Project Product No. 011 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
U.S. Department of the Interior

Gale A. Norton, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2005

For product and ordering information:

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth,

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment:

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not 

imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

This report has not been reviewed for stratigraphic nomenclature

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual 

copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report.
iii

Contents

1. Abstract......................................................................................................................................................1

2. Introduction................................................................................................................................................1

2.1. Seismotectonic Maps ..................................................................................................................1

2.2. This Map.........................................................................................................................................1

3. Tectonic Setting of Afghanistan.............................................................................................................2

3.1. Plate Tectonics..............................................................................................................................2

3.2. Present-day Differences in Crustal Ages and in Faulting......................................................2

4. Earthquakes...............................................................................................................................................4

5. Active Faults ..............................................................................................................................................7

5.1. Criteria for Identification .............................................................................................................7

5.2. Ranking of Faults by Likelihood of Being Seismically Active ................................................9

6. Seismic-Hazard Computations .............................................................................................................10

6.1. Geologic Source Zones .............................................................................................................10

6.2. Maximum Magnitudes (M[max])..............................................................................................11

6.3. Attenuation Relations.................................................................................................................12

7. Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................12

8. Literature Cited........................................................................................................................................12

Appendix 1. Variable names and spellings of Afghan faults ................................................................16

Appendix 2. Annotated bibliography for seismotectonic map of Afghanistan..................................18
Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan,

with Annotated Bibliography

By Russell L. Wheeler, Charles G. Bufe, Margo L. Johnson, and Richard L. Dart

1. Abstract

A seismotectonic map shows geologic, seismological, 

and other information that is pertinent to seismic hazards but 

previously was scattered among many sources. Afghanistan 

is part of the Eurasian plate. Afghan seismicity is driven by 

the relative northward movements of the Arabian plate past 

western Afghanistan at 33 mm/yr and of the Indian plate 

past eastern Afghanistan at 39 mm/yr or faster as both plates 

subduct under Eurasia (fig. 1). Afghanistan is laced with faults 

(fig. 2). Known faults large enough to have been mapped at 

a scale of 1:500,000 are least abundant in the stable North 

Afghan platform, more abundant in the accreted terranes of 

southern Afghanistan, and most likely to slip rapidly and 

generate earthquakes in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan 

in the broad transpressional plate boundary with the Indian 

plate (fig. 3). Crustal earthquakes are most abundant in and 

around northeastern Afghanistan as a result of the northward 

subduction of the Indian plate (fig. 4). Crustal earthquakes are 

somewhat less abundant in much of the transpressional plate 

boundary with India. Central and western Afghanistan are 

least seismically active. Beneath the Hindu Kush of northeastern Afghanistan and the Pamirs of adjacent Tajikistan, numerous mantle earthquakes occur within a steeply dipping, northeast-trending, tabular zone that is 700 km long and extends 

nearly to 300 km depth (fig. 5). Except for the Chaman fault 

that forms part of the western edge of the transpressional plate 

boundary in Pakistan and Afghanistan, published evidence for 

or against the activity of individual Afghan faults is sparse.

2. Introduction

2.1. Seismotectonic Maps

The purpose of a seismotectonic map is to show geological, seismological, and other geophysical information together 

that was previously scattered and is likely to be useful to seismologists who will compute seismic-hazard maps, geologists 

studying possible geologic controls on earthquake occurrence, 

and anyone who requires an overview of the present-day 

tectonics (Hadley and Devine, 1974; Kaila and others, 1974; 

Kazmi, 1979; Haghipour and others, 1984a; Gower and others, 

1985; Haghipour, 1992; Rhea and others, 1994, 1996; Wheeler 

and Rhea, 1994; Wheeler and others, 1994, 1997a, b; Rhea 

and Wheeler, 1994a, b, 1995, 1996). The present map consists 

of this text and the five page-sized figures that accompany it.

A seismotectonic map is not a tectonic map, largely 

because a typical seismotectonic map deals with information 

that covers much shorter time spans. There are two reasons 

for the shorter time spans. First, most seismotectonic maps 

focus on earthquake threats that might be realized within the 

next few decades. A standard assumption in probabilistic 

hazard analysis is that seismicity of the near future is likely 

to resemble seismicity of the recent past. The farther back 

into the geologic past one looks, the less likely it is that the 

past seismicity represents the likely seismicity of the near 

future. Hazard analysts look only as far back as they think the 

assumption of representativeness is valid. At present, the main 

way to test the assumption is with paleoseismological studies. 

Most of these studies can characterize the prehistoric record of 

individual large earthquakes or groups of them back to several 

thousands to several tens of thousands of years before the 

present (McCalpin and Nelson, 1996). Second, faults that have 

slipped earlier than the Quaternary, or perhaps even earlier 

than the Late Quaternary, but which have not slipped again 

since then, probably produce earthquakes that have an annual 

probability of occurrence that is too small to impact probabilistic seismic-hazard maps (Wheeler, 2002). Accordingly, a 

modern seismotectonic map is likely to show only those faults, 

geologic units, and other features that bear on the past few 

thousand to hundreds of thousand years.

2.2. This Map

The three different audiences for this map might find different parts of the report useful. Readers who need only a brief 

overview could restrict themselves to the abstract and figures. 

To assist this audience, the abstract cites the figures. Readers 

who will compute seismic-hazard maps of Afghanistan may 

find the main text, the figures, and perhaps Appendix 1 useful. 

Readers who wish to investigate geologic controls on seismicity are likely to need the entire report.

Simultaneously with production of this map, other groups 

of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists worked to produce an Afghan earthquake catalog, fault slip rates estimated 

from satellite imagery and aerial photographs, and geologic 

maps. Normally, all of this work would be completed before 

the production of a seismotectonic map and would be used in 
it. However, scheduling incompatibilities meant that few of 

these results were available in time to be incorporated into the 

seismotectonic map. Thus, the sets of faults and earthquakes 

shown on the figures here are similar to but not identical to 

those that will be used in the hazard computations.

A note is appropriate on the names of the main mountain 

ranges in the study area: the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, and the 

Himalaya. According to the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

Agency (http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/, accessed 

May 26, 2005), the proper names are not followed by “Mountains” or “Range”. The proper names stand alone. Occasionally, the adjective “Himalayan” is formed, as in “the Himalayan deformation”.

3. Tectonic Setting of Afghanistan

3.1. Plate Tectonics

Afghanistan forms the most stable part of a promontory 

that projects south from the Eurasian plate (fig. 1; Ambraseys 

and Bilham, 2003; DeMets and others, 1990). West of Afghanistan, the Arabian plate subducts northward under Eurasia, 

and east of Afghanistan the Indian plate does the same. South 

of Afghanistan, the Arabian and Indian plates adjoin and both 

subduct northward under the Eurasian promontory. The plate 

boundaries west, south, and east of Afghanistan are hundreds 

of kilometers wide. They involve the contractional deformation of large parts of the Eurasian promontory.

More specifically, south of Afghanistan at the Makran 

subduction zone, the plate contact between the overriding Eurasian plate and the subducting Arabian and Indian plates crops 

out along a line beneath the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian 

Sea (fig. 1). Within the plate boundary and north of the plate 

contact, southwestern Pakistan and southeastern Iran, together 

with southernmost Afghanistan, make up a broad deformation 

zone of north-dipping thrust faults and associated folds that 

trend east (Kazmi, 1979; Shareq, 1981; Haghipour and others, 1984a, b; Hessami and others, 2003). The north-trending 

direction of plate convergence is nearly perpendicular to the 

east-trending plate contact (fig. 1). Thus, the deformation zone 

north of the contact includes dominantly reverse faults and 

associated folds, with negligible strike-slip faulting (Kazmi, 

1979; Hessami and others, 2003).

In contrast, east and west of Afghanistan, the plate 

boundaries trend north-northeast and north-northwest, 

respectively. Subduction is oblique, and plate convergence is 

transpressional. The western plate boundary between Arabia 

and Eurasia is roughly a mirror image of the eastern boundary 

between India and Eurasia. The western boundary is entirely 

within Iran and largely outside the area shown on figure 1; 

we will not consider the western boundary further. Within the 

eastern boundary, upper crustal strain of the deformation zone 

is partitioned into a broad complex of thrust faults at and near 

the plate contact and a wide, north-northeast-trending belt of 

left-lateral, strike-slip faults farther inside the Eurasian plate 

(Kazmi, 1979; Sarwar and De Jong, 1979; Kazmi and Rana, 

1982; Haghipour and others, 1984a). The plate contact follows 

the curved traces of the outermost thrust faults in Pakistan (fig. 

1), and the strike-slip belt extends west as far as the left-lateral 

Chaman fault of Afghanistan (figs. 2, 3). The strike-slip belt 

contains many large, left-lateral faults that strike north and 

northeast, and fewer, smaller reverse faults that strike east and 

northeast and dip northerly (figs. 1, 2; Kazmi, 1979; Sarwar 

and De Jong, 1979; Kazmi and Rana, 1982).

The thrust complexes and strike-slip belts of the deformation zones that form the rim of the Eurasian promontory are 

all seismically active (Kazmi, 1979; Haghipour and others, 

1984a; Hessami and others, 2003). In contrast, the interior of 

the promontory in western and central Afghanistan is much 

less active (fig. 4).

Figure 1 shows an estimate of the crustal stress field 

that results from these plate interactions. An earthquake 

focal mechanism contains three-dimensional estimates of the 

directions of greatest extension and greatest contraction at the 

earthquake focus. The direction of greatest contraction is a 

measure of deformation. In addition, it generally is taken as 

an approximation of the direction of greatest compressional 

stress (Zoback and Zoback, 1991). In the horizontal plane, 

the azimuth of the direction of greatest compressional stress 

is the greatest horizontal compressional stress SH(max) (Zoback, 

1992). Plotting many SH(max) orientations on a map can reveal 

regions of simple or complex stress fields at earthquake depths 

and can identify regions of similar or different stress orientations (Zoback and others, 1989, 1991). Figure 1 shows that 

the crustal stress field in the vicinity of Afghanistan is fairly 

simple at depths of 40 km and less. The moderate to large 

earthquakes that yield focal mechanisms are most abundant 

in and near the plate boundaries in Iran, eastern Afghanistan 

and adjacent Pakistan, and in northeastern Afghanistan and 

surroundings above the northwestern corner of the subducting 

Indian plate.

We calculated relative plate-motion vectors from the 

Euler vectors of the global plate model NUVEL-1 (DeMets 

and others, 1990), as corrected to NUVEL-1A by DeMets 

and others (1994). Arabia moves northward with respect to 

a fixed Eurasia at 33 mm/yr, and India does the same at 39 

mm/yr. DeMets and others (1990) used a site within the broad, 

transpressional deformation zone in southern Pakistan to characterize the relative motion of the Indian plate. If significant 

transform slip occurs east of the site, then the velocity of 39 

mm/yr would underestimate the relative motion of India with 

respect to Eurasia.

3.2. Present-day Differences in Crustal Ages 

and in Faulting

Afghanistan, north of the Hari Rod fault and west of the 

Central Badakhsan fault, comprises the North Afghan platform 

(figs. 2, 3; Turan platform of Shareq [1981] and Tapponnier 

   Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
xxc Èäc Èxc Çäc Çxc

Ó{c

Ónc

ÎÓc

ÎÈc

iÌ`\

vV>ÊiV>Ã



	




¢Ê­Óää{®Ê7À`Ê-ÌÀiÃÃÊ>«

+Õ>ÌÞ

ä{äÊÊ`i«ÌÃ

 -/ 

/1,
 -/ 

, 

*-/ 

 

/-/ 

,	 Ê-


1Ê"

" 

" 

1,

" 

1<	


-/ 






%52!3)!.

0,!4% ).$)!.

0,!4%

!2!")!.

0,!4%

Figure 1. Plate tectonics of Afghanistan. Short blue and green lines with dots show local orientations of greatest horizontal 

compressive stress. Stress orientations were calculated from focal mechanisms of shallow earthquakes (depths 40 km or less); the 

focal mechanisms are not shown here. Faulting is overwhelmingly strike slip (green with half-open dots) or reverse (purple with solid 

dots) in this contractional environment. Eleven scattered stress orientations for normal faulting were deleted as local anomalies. Line 

length indicates quality of the orientation, decreasing from A to C according to the criteria of Zoback (1992). Thick gray lines show 

outcrops of plate contacts (see text section 3.1). Thinner black lines represent international boundaries. Abbreviated country names in 

the northeast and southwest corners of the map: C, China; K, Kyrgyzstan; UAR, United Arab Emirates. Elevation increases from yellowgray near sea level through yellow to dark brown. Darkest brown areas exceed approximately 3 km in elevation and are as high as 6,504 

m in northeasternmost Afghanistan. The Arabian plate moves northward with respect to a fixed Eurasia at 33 mm/yr, and India does the 

same at 39 mm/yr or faster (see text section 3.1). The figure was modified slightly from a map made and downloaded during February, 

2005 from the web site of the World Stress Map Project of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and the Geophysical Institute of the 

University of Karlsruhe (http://www-wsm.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/). Mercator projection.

Tectonic Setting of Afghanistan   
and others [1981]; Tadjhik platform of Treloar and Izatt 

[1993]). The platform basement of metamorphic and igneous rocks was developed during the Carboniferous-Permian 

Hercynian orogeny and the basement has been comparatively 

stable since then (Shareq, 1981; Tapponnier and others, 1981). 

A cover sequence of Mesozoic and Tertiary strata overlies the 

basement, is as thick as 6 km at the Afghan border, and thickens northward to as much as 16 km (Brookfield and Hashmat, 

2001). The cover sequence hosts the mature Amu-Dar’ya 

gas-oil province of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (Kingston 

and Clarke, 1995). Most faults within the platform strike west 

or west-northwest and lack significant offset (Brookfield and 

Hashmat, 2001). Petroleum traps are in folds that are thought 

to overlie reactivated basement faults.

Mapped faults on the platform are more numerous near 

its southern and eastern edges than within its interior (figs. 

2, 3). However, geologic and tectonic maps show that the 

Precambrian and Paleozoic basement rocks of the platform are 

exposed throughout this belt of numerous faults, from northernmost Afghanistan southwest to approximately longitude 

67° E (Shareq and Chmyriov, 1977; United Nations Economic 

and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 1995). 

Apparently, the belt of more numerous faults is an artifact of 

exposure, not an indication of greater deformation.

In contrast to the platform, the evolution of Afghanistan 

south and east of the platform was dominated by collisions 

of Gondwanan fragments with Laurasia that began during the 

Mesozoic Era and which continue today in the form of Indian 

subduction (Exxon Production Research Company, 1985; 

Haghipour and others, 1984b; Wittekindt and others, 1997). 

Shareq (1981) showed igneous rocks immediately south of the 

Hari Rod fault and Exxon Production Research Corporation 

(1985) interpreted them as ophiolites. The presence of ophiolites implies subduction of oceanic or marginal basin crust 

beneath the continental crust of the North Afghan platform. 

Sengor (1984, p. 29, 51) interpreted these relations and many 

others to conclude that the subducted oceanic crust underlay 

an early part of the Tethyan Ocean and was subducted during 

late Early Carboniferous to Triassic time. The rifting that initiated this part of the Tethyan Ocean must have predated subduction of the oceanic crust. Presumably, the rifting postdated 

the Carboniferous-Permian orogeny that formed the North 

Afghan platform.

Sengor (1984) noted that continued subduction and 

final closure of the Tethyan Ocean produced the widespread 

Mesozoic Cimmerian orogeny. South and east of the platform, 

Afghanistan is laced with hundreds of faults that are large 

enough to be mapped geologically at a scale of 1:500,000, 

except where the faults are covered by young Quaternary and 

some Pliocene strata, as in southwestern Afghanistan (figs. 

2, 3) and adjacent Iran and Pakistan (Chmyriov and Mirzad, 

1972; Kazmi and Rana, 1982; Exxon Production Research 

Company, 1985; Shareq and Chmyriov, 1977). Crustal fragments south of the Hari Rod fault and east of the Central 

Badakhsan fault, but northwest of the Chaman and Konar 

faults (fig. 2), rifted away from Gondwana before India did, 

crossed the Tethyan Ocean, and accreted to Eurasia before 

India did, during the Cimmerian orogeny (Treloar and Izatt, 

1993). Fragments accreted successively southward and most 

or all subduction zones dipped north (Tapponnier and others, 

1981). Additional fragments accreted east of the Chaman and 

Konar faults until the arrival of India (Wittekindt and others, 

1997).

The Hari Rod fault (figs. 2, 3) was reactivated in transtension during Oligocene-Miocene time, and most large 

faults south of the Hari Rod fault were reactivated during the 

Tertiary Period in strike slip (Treloar and Izatt, 1993). Today, 

the 20-to-60 km-wide zone between the Hari Rod fault on the 

north, and the Qarghanaw, Bande Bayan and Onay faults on 

the south, contains what Shareq (1981) regarded as the most 

structurally complex rocks in Afghanistan. He named these 

rocks the “Middle Afghanistan geosuture zone” (his pl. 1). 

Fault bounded, lens-shaped rock masses trend roughly east 

throughout Middle Afghanistan (fig. 3). This fabric strongly 

indicates considerable strike slip, and Brookfield and Hashmat 

(2001) reported that Paleozoic rocks are displaced right laterally by about 600 km across the Hari Rod fault.

Despite the original north dip of most or all of the Afghan 

subduction zones, most large faults within the accreted terranes now dip steeply (Tapponnier and others, 1981). Tapponnier and others attributed the steep dips to dominant strike slip 

and possible north-south shortening. Wolfart and Wittekindt 

(1980), Treloar and Izatt (1993), and Brookfield and Hashmat 

(2001) together showed seven cross sections across the Hari 

Rod fault. The cross sections show numerous thrust faults, 

most of which dip south, opposite the original dip direction of 

the subduction zone. Thus, modern fault dips may not be reliable indicators of the crustal-scale geometries of the Afghan 

subduction zones. We have found no cross sections of the 

Afghan crust in which fault dips are constrained by modern analyses of adequate seismic-reflection, refraction, and 

potential-field data.

4. Earthquakes

Figures 4 and 5 show the map distribution of Afghan and 

nearby earthquakes within two depth ranges that correspond 

roughly to crustal (fig. 4) and mantle seismicity (fig. 5). The 

Afghan earthquake catalog used for the figures is an early 

version of the catalog that USGS and USGS-funded seismologists are compiling (E. Bergman, oral and written communs., 

February 25, 2005). The preliminary catalog includes magnitudes of various types. We clipped the catalog to the boundaries of figures 2–5 and excluded all earthquakes smaller than 

magnitude 4.0. The preliminary catalog should not be used to 

compute hazard or identify active faults.

Figures 4 and 5 show several well-known aspects of 

Afghan and nearby seismicity (for example, Haghipour and 

others, 1984b; Quittmeyer and Jacob, 1979; Ambraseys and 

Bilham, 2003). At crustal depths, seismicity is concentrated in 

   Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
the plate boundaries that are west and east of Afghanistan and 

in and near eastern Afghanistan (fig. 4). The greatest concentration of large and small crustal earthquakes is in and around 

northeastern Afghanistan beneath the Hindu Kush and Pamirs 

(figs. 3, 4). At mantle depths, seismicity is almost exclusively 

beneath the Hindu Kush and Pamirs (figs. 3, 5).

Several authors have asserted that individual crustal 

earthquakes, or groups of them, occurred on individual named 

faults whose traces are known from geologic mapping (for 

example, Prevot and others, 1980; Shareq, 1981, 1992, 1993). 

However, except for historical surface ruptures on the Chaman fault (Quittmeyer and Jacob, 1979), the evidence supporting such assertions is sparse. For example, Prevot and 

others (1980) conducted several microearthquake surveys near 

Kabul. They were unable to clearly associate earthquakes with 

individual known faults by using epicenters, composite focal 

mechanisms, or both. Prevot and others concluded that most 

of the seismicity was distributed diffusely throughout a large 

crustal volume where five large faults intersect in map view.

 

3CALE

+M

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

)2!.

452+-%.)34!.

5:"%+


)34!.

4!*)+)34!.

0!+)34!.

!-

$:

(6

#"

+/

30

3!

'!

#(

-/

(-

$3

""

#(

0-

0*

!.

(2

/.

(2

(2

1!

+2

"4

$-

Figure 2. Locations of faults that are named in the text and Appendix 1 (red). Fault traces from USGS-funded digitization of the geologic 

map of Shareq and Chmyriov (1977) (black). Abbreviations of fault names: AM, Alburz Marmul; AN, Andarab; BB, Bande Bayan; BT, 

Bande Turkestan; CH, Chaman; CB, Central Badakhsan; DS, Darafshan; DZ, Darvaz; DM, Dosi Mirzavalan; GA, Gardez; HR, Hari Rod; 

HM, Helmand; HV, Henjvan; KR, Kaj Rod; KO, Konar; MO, Mokur; ON, Onay; PM, Paghman; PJ, Panjshir; QA, Qarghanaw; SA, Sarobi; SP, 

Spinghar (see text section 3.2). Transverse Mercator projection with scale factor 0.999600 at central meridian 66° E., projection origin is 

34° N., false easting and northing are zero.

Earthquakes 
Pegler and Das (1998) computed joint hypocenter locations for nearly 6,000 mantle earthquakes beneath the Hindu 

Kush and Pamirs. Their improved relative locations, as well as 

the large number of earthquakes, showed that the seismicity 

occurs within a steeply dipping tabular zone approximately 30 

km thick and 700 km long. In its southwestern part, beneath 

the Hindu Kush, the tabular zone of seismicity dips 50°–90° 

northwest and is at depths of 100–300 km. In contrast, in the 

northeast, beneath the Pamirs, the zone dips 50°–60° southeast and mostly is at shallower depths of 80–200 km. Pegler 

and Das showed the complex geometry of the tabular zone in 

a series of 12 maps and 20 cross sections, which cannot be 

reproduced here. Instead, figure 5 shows a map view of the 

unrelocated seismicity deeper than 100 km. The zone appears 

wider than its true width of 30 km because its dip is not vertical. The two oppositely dipping parts of the seismicity zone 

are continuous and the zone steepens from its southwestern 

end toward the northeast and overturns farther northeast. 

Pegler and Das concluded that the entire seismicity zone is an 

effect of northwestward subduction of the Indian plate beneath 

the Eurasian plate. They also concluded that the northeastern part of the zone, which dips steeply southeast beneath 

the Pamirs, was overturned from its original northwest dip 

by northward flow in the mantle that is driven by continuing 

northward motion of India.

 

3CALE

+M

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

)2!.

452+-%.)34!.

5:"%+


)34!.

4!*)+)34!.

0!+)34!.

!-

$:

(6

#"

+/

30

3!

'!

#(

-/

(-

$3

""

0-

0*

!.

(2

/.

(2

(2

#(

1!

+2

"4

$- /, -*,
--" Ê*/
Ê	"1 ,9

 1Ê1-

 ",/Ê Ê*/",




 -/ 



,
/


/
,, 
-

*,-

Figure 3. Tectonic regions of Afghanistan. Pink, North Afghan platform; blue, Middle Afghanistan; yellow, terranes that were accreted 

to the platform; tan, left-lateral transpressional plate boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates (see text section 3.2). Black 

dot south of “PM” shows location of Kabul. Black and red fault traces from figure 2. Hindu Kush and Pamirs are high mountain ranges. 

Projection as in caption of figure 2.

 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
5. Active Faults

5.1. Criteria for Identification

In general, active faults are useful in a hazard assessment 

to the degree that they allow either estimation of the locations, 

sizes, and dates of large prehistoric earthquakes, or estimation of the rate of fault slip averaged over several earthquake 

cycles. Chronologies of large prehistoric earthquakes and slip 

rates are useful because large historical earthquakes can be 

too few in a given region to allow precise estimation of their 

frequencies. However, paleoseismologists only can study 

earthquakes of magnitude approximately 5.0 or larger, and 

in most settings magnitude 6.0 or larger, because only these 

larger earthquakes rupture the Earth’s surface or produce other 

geologically recognizable records (McCalpin and Nelson, 

1996). Soft-sediment deformation features and faults or folds 

of outcrop size or smaller can be produced by earthquakes 

smaller than magnitude 5–6. In general, it is difficult to determine whether such features are of seismic, nonseismic, or even 

nonfaulting origin (Obermeier, 1996; Wheeler, 2002). The best 

evidence that a fault is active is a surface rupture that was seen 

to form during a historical earthquake, or a prehistoric surface 

rupture that has been studied by paleoseismologists who find 

evidence that can rule out fluvial, landslide, or other nonseismic origins and which dates the rupture.

 

3CALE

+M

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Figure 4. Crustal seismicity at depths of 40 km or less. Small blue dots, magnitudes 4.0–5.9; larger red dots, magnitudes 6.0–7.9. 

Preliminary earthquake catalog from E. Bergman (oral and written communs., February 25, 2005) (see text section 4). Colored polygons 

are from figure 3. Projection as in caption of figure 2.

Active Faults 
The more frequently a given fault ruptures to produce a 

large earthquake, the more likely that fault is to significantly 

impact hazard estimates. An acceptable hazard map could 

be computed strictly from seismicity, with no contributions 

from active faults (Frankel, 1995). Therefore, in most cases, in 

order for an active fault to significantly contribute to a hazard 

computation, the fault should slip and generate strong ground 

motion often enough that its hazard rises above that estimated 

solely from the seismicity of the surrounding region. In general, a pre-Quaternary fault that cannot be shown to have generated a large earthquake during the Late Quaternary probably 

has an annual probability of producing strong ground shaking 

that is too small to impact the hazard computations (Wheeler, 

2002). In a seismically active region such as Afghanistan and 

its surroundings, the age cutoff for faulting may be still more 

recent. Therefore, faults that lack evidence of Quaternary or 

Holocene faulting, even the faults that were most important 

during the plate-tectonic assembly of Afghanistan, are unlikely 

to be pertinent to hazard assessment.

Faults and earthquakes exist in three dimensions. Reverse 

and normal faults are far from vertical, and even strike-slip 

faults tend not to be perfectly vertical. At earthquake depths, 

fault locations are uncertain, typically by kilometers. Earthquake depths are likely to be similarly uncertain in regions 

where seismometers are as distant from the earthquakes as is 

the case for Afghan seismicity. These uncertainties invalidate 

  3CALE

+M

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Figure 5. Mantle seismicity at depths greater than 100 km. Small blue dots, magnitudes 4.0–5.9; larger red dots, magnitudes 6.0–7.9. 

Preliminary earthquake catalog from E. Bergman (oral and written communs., February 25, 2005) (see text section 4). Colored polygons 

are from figure 3. Projection as in caption of figure 2.

 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
most attempts to attribute one or a few earthquakes to known 

faults using only the earthquake epicenters and the fault traces.

These considerations yield criteria with which to rank 

individual large Afghan faults according to the likelihood 

that they are seismically active. (1) The strongest evidence of 

activity is the surface rupture of an individual historical or prehistoric earthquake. (2) The second strongest evidence would 

be identification of likely fault offsets of Quaternary surfaces 

or landforms, as seen on aerial photographs or satellite images, 

or offsets of young, dated volcanic rocks. (3) The weakest 

evidence for attributing seismicity to an individual fault is an 

alignment or clustering of earthquake epicenters along the 

mapped trace of a large fault.

5.2. Ranking of Faults by Likelihood of Being 

Seismically Active

The literature contains evidence and suggestions that 

10 large Afghan faults are seismically active. The criteria of 

section 5.1 allow the faults to be ranked on the strengths of the 

published evidence for activity. Only the first five or six faults 

listed below appear to have enough evidence to warrant additional investigation. Eventually, results of the imagery analysis 

mentioned in section 2.2 are likely to supplant the following 

estimates.

1. The Chaman fault has the most evidence for seismic 

activity by far. It is part of the western edge of the 

transpressional plate boundary between Eurasia and 

India (fig. 3). Movement of the fault has produced 

three historical surface ruptures along the fault trace. 

An earthquake on July 5 or 6, 1505, produced 60 km 

of surface rupture with several meters of vertical offset 

(Quittmeyer and Jacob, 1979). The rupture broke the 

northern end of the Chaman fault, which some authors 

named separately as the Paghman fault (PM on fig. 2). 

A second surface rupture that formed on December 20, 

1892, at approximately latitude 31° N. (fig. 2) also was 

60 km long, produced 60–75 cm of left-lateral slip, 

and dropped the west wall of the fault down 20–30 cm 

(Lawrence and others, 1992; Quittmeyer and Jacob, 

1979). Quittmeyer and Jacob summarized earlier 

reports that, in interviews with village elders after the 

1892 shock, the elders reported three prior surface 

ruptures within their lifetimes. Finally, a magnitude 6.4 

earthquake occurred in 1978 in the same general area 

as the 1892 shock. The 1978 earthquake produced 5 

km of ground cracking, up to 4 cm of left-lateral offset, 

and a lesser amount of vertical slip that dropped the 

east wall of the fault down (Yeats and others, 1979).

Wellman (1965) examined aerial photographs, listed the 

magnitudes and locations of offsets at seven sites along the 

Chaman fault, and estimated a slip rate of 2–20 mm/yr. Tapponnier and others (1981) reported that “Studies of Quaternary geomorphology yield a displacement rate of 1–2 cm/yr 

along the master fault during the last 100,000 years .... Since 

the beginning of the Quaternary, the average rate across the 

whole fault zone could have been higher (2.5–3.5 cm/yr) ...” 

(p. 358). Sborshchikov and others (1981) showed left-lateral 

offsets of several kilometers (their fig. 5) but gave no location. Shareq (1981, 1993) asserted that microseismic studies 

showed the Chaman fault to be active but provided no evidence. Lawrence and others (1992) cited a report of volcanic rocks in Pakistan that are 2 m.y. old and had been offset 

sufficiently to indicate a slip rate of 25–35 mm/yr. Lawrence 

and others described offsets throughout the fault in Pakistan 

that are young enough that “only the alluvium of the bottom of 

active dry washes is not displaced” (p. 204). Satellite geodesy 

(section 3.1) yielded a slip rate of 39 mm/yr for India relative 

to Eurasia for a site that is approximately 40 km east of the 

Chaman fault (Kazmi and Rana, 1982; DeMets and others, 

1990). Therefore, the site is 40 km inside the west edge of the 

transpressional plate boundary, and there may be other leftlateral faults between the Chaman fault and the site. Accordingly, 39 mm/yr may be an overestimate of the slip rate of the 

Chaman fault alone.

2. After the Chaman fault, the Darvaz fault has the most 

evidence for young slip. The north-striking part of the 

fault is partly in Tajikistan but mostly in Afghanistan 

(Trifonov, 1978, 1999). Trifonov (1978) cited field 

observations from this part of the fault showing up to 

20 m of left-lateral slip during the late Holocene, up 

to 120 m during most or all of the Holocene, and 300 

m during the Late Pleistocene. Shareq (1993) asserted 

without evidence that earthquakes concentrate along 

the Darvaz fault. If one assumes that the offset landscape features of late Holocene, Holocene, and Late 

Pleistocene age are 3, 10, and 130 ka, then the offsets 

reported by Trifonov would imply slip rates of 7, 12, 

and 2 mm/yr, respectively.

3. The Hari Rod fault has a striking geomorphic expression on satellite images but there is evidence for and 

against its present-day activity. Wellman (1965) noted 

aerial photographic evidence of stream offsets at two 

localities, but Trifonov (1978) reported on p. 1069 a 

personal communication from Molnar that disputed 

those observations. Sborshchikov and others (1981) 

examined satellite images, noted 800 m of right-lateral 

offsets of streams “in the midstream of the Hari Rud 

river” (p. 58), and reported that “similar displacements, 

which can be attributed only to a dextral slip, were 

observed elsewhere” (p. 58) but provided no locations. Their figure 5 shows stream offsets of several 

kilometers across the fault. They noted that aerial and 

satellite photographs show average offset of approximately 5 km (p. 61). They inferred that “the time of 

the shaping of the river system in this region is most 

likely the Upper Pliocene, i.e. about 2 m.y. before 

present ... and the velocity amounts thus to 0.2–0.3 

cm yr-1” (p. 61). Sborshchikov and others reported that 

Active Faults 
Neogene conglomerates fill grabens along the fault, 

from which they inferred strike-slip faulting during or 

since the Early Miocene. Shareq (1993) asserted that 

earthquakes concentrate along the Hari Rod fault, but 

considered it less active than the Chaman and much 

less active than the Darvaz, Central Badakhsan, and 

Konar faults of northeastern Afghanistan.

In contrast, Tapponnier and others (1981) observed 

that “although the fault zone is still sharply expressed in the 

Quaternary morphology, it may no longer be active since 

post-Miocene deposits are not clearly offset along it” (p. 

359), cited a French paper for the evidence, and also noted 

“the ... fault trace, although clear on Landsat photos, is not 

as sharp as that of active faults such as the Chaman ....” (p. 

364). Quittmeyer and Jacob (1979) reported that a damaging 

earthquake occurred near Herat on or near the western part of 

the fault in the ninth century, and that another occurred north 

of Kabul and perhaps on or near the eastern part of the fault in 

1874, but concluded that “even for these events the evidence 

is not strong” (p. 803) for a causal association with the fault. 

Additionally, note that the fault strikes at a high angle to the 

regional northerly trend of the greatest horizontal compressive 

stress (figs. 1, 2). The fault is far from optimally oriented for 

slip in the ambient regional stress field.

4. The Andarab fault has two sites at which Wellman 

(1965) interpreted evidence of right-lateral strike-slip 

offset from aerial photographs. However, Trifonov 

(1978) noted a personal communication in which Molnar disputed Wellman’s interpretations (p. 1069).

5. On the Darafshan fault, Wellman (1965) examined 

aerial photographs and found one site having evidence 

of left-lateral strike-slip offset.

6. On and near the Sarobi fault, an array of portable seismographs recorded microearthquakes whose precisely 

located epicenters clustered or aligned on the fault 

trace (Prevot and others, 1980). The only composite 

focal mechanism from clustered earthquakes with 

epicenters on or near the fault trace had a nodal plane 

parallel to the fault strike.

7. Quittmeyer and Jacob (1979) reported teleseismic 

activity on the Konar fault, but gave no locations or 

specifics. Prevot and others (1980) operated an array of 

portable instruments that recorded microearthquakes. 

All three composite focal mechanisms of earthquakes 

on or very near the fault trace had nodal planes parallel to the trace, but numerous epicenters formed a 

large, diffuse cluster that straddled the fault trace but 

appeared otherwise unrelated to it. Shareq (1981, 

1993) asserted that earthquake concentrations and 

microearthquake studies showed the Konar fault to be 

active, but provided neither evidence nor citations.

8, 9, 10. Shareq (1981, 1993) noted that the Central Badakhsan, Alburz Marmul, and Panjshir faults are active 

according to results from earthquake concentrations 

and microearthquake studies. However, no evidence 

was given.

6. Seismic-Hazard Computations

This section draws on preceding ones to offer suggestions 

that might be useful in designing the seismic-hazard computations that will produce an Afghan hazard map. Most of this 

section offers suggestions for the treatment of crustal seismicity in the hazard computations. The mantle seismicity beneath 

the Hindu Kush and Pamirs (figs. 3, 5; section 4) will need to 

be treated separately from the crustal seismicity because of 

their different depths.

6.1 Geologic Source Zones

Wheeler and Frankel (2000) defined three source zones 

for the central and eastern United States according to the few 

aspects of geology that they accepted as likely to influence 

seismicity east of the Rocky Mountains. These aspects include 

global geologic and tectonic analogs, as well as deductions 

and observations of the types and ages of faults that are generating seismicity at several representative locales. Application 

of this same strategy suggests dividing Afghanistan into two 

or three geologic source zones. The source zones will allow 

hazard analysts the option of assigning different maximum 

magnitudes and attenuation relations to different parts of 

Afghanistan.

The most obvious source zone is the broad transpressional plate boundary outlined on fig. 3. It is the zone along 

which the Indian plate moves northward past central and western Afghanistan at a relative rate of at least 39 mm/yr (section 

3.1). The boundary generates more crustal seismicity than 

does the rest of Afghanistan, with the notable but local exception of the eastern part of the North Afghan platform (fig. 4). 

Five of the ten individual faults that have been suggested to be 

seismically active are within the plate boundary or at its west 

edge despite the small fraction of Afghanistan that the boundary occupies (section 5.2, fig. 3). These five faults include the 

Chaman fault, which has stronger evidence of activity than any 

other Afghan fault.

The fault with the second strongest evidence for activity 

is the Darvaz fault (section 5.2). It is within the North Afghan 

platform, near its eastern border with the plate boundary (fig. 

3). Depending on the eventual findings of the USGS group 

that is examining aerial photographs and satellite images for 

evidence of fault activity, one might decide to follow Trifonov (1999) and extend a plate-boundary source zone west 

to the Darvaz and Henjvan faults (fig. 3). There would be two 

geologic justifications for such a westward extension of a plate 

boundary source zone. First, if the Darvaz and perhaps Henjvan faults are found to have geomorphic evidence of recent 

left-lateral strike slip, such slip might indicate that the blocks 

10 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
of the platform between the Darvaz and Henjvan faults, on the 

west, and the Central Badakhsan fault, on the east, are being 

sheared off the North Afghan platform. Such shearing would 

straighten the plate boundary by removing the restraining bend 

of the western Hindu Kush at the northeast end of the Chaman 

fault (fig. 3). Second, the eastern part of the North Afghan 

platform is more seismically active than the rest (fig. 4). This 

additional activity might be evidence that the platform east of 

the Darvaz fault is being incorporated into the plate boundary.

A second possible geologic source zone could be the 

North Afghan platform, with or without the area east of the 

Darvaz and Henjvan faults. The argument for making the 

platform a source zone rests on a global tectonic analog. 

The platform is not a stable continental region (SCR) in the 

sense of Johnston (1989; 1994) and Kanter (1994). Nonetheless, the platform has a geologic history similar to that of the 

Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America; North 

America east of the Rocky Mountains is the type SCR. The 

Appalachian Mountains are part of the Phanerozoic rim of 

North America, a large source zone made of contractional 

and extensional terranes (Wheeler and Frankel, 2000). The 

Appalachian Mountains underwent their culminating orogeny 

during the Carboniferous and Permian Periods and so did 

the North Afghan platform (section 3.2). The Appalachian 

orogenic crust was rifted beginning in the Triassic Period to 

form the Atlantic Ocean, whereas the North Afghan platform 

was rifted to form part of the early Tethyan Ocean at the same 

time or earlier (section 3.2). The Appalachian Mountains and 

central and eastern Afghanistan are both under compressional 

deviatoric stress, with extensional earthquakes being rare 

(Zoback and others, 1991; fig. 1). Thus, the two regions have 

had similar lengths of time for their crusts to cool and for their 

fault rocks to strengthen by recrystallization.

The main difference between the Appalachian Mountains 

and the North Afghan platform is that the North Afghan platform borders an active plate boundary, whereas the Appalachian Mountains do not. However, other SCRs border active 

subduction boundaries in Australia, South America, Arabia, 

India, and China, and the South American SCR is bounded 

on the north and south by active transform plate boundaries 

within continental crust (Broadbent and Allan Cartography, 

1994). Thus, the presence of an active plate boundary next to 

the North Afghan platform does not necessarily undercut the 

tectonic analogy between the platform and the Appalachian 

Mountains.

There does not appear to be any obvious geologic explanation for the more abundant crustal seismicity of the eastern 

North Afghan platform compared to the central and western 

platform (fig. 4). The same is true for parts of the central and 

eastern United States, for which the smoothed seismicity 

method of Frankel (1995) accommodates the unexplained differences in seismicity. The same method could be used for the 

North Afghan platform.

If the platform and plate boundary are both made geologic source zones, then we suggest that Middle Afghanistan 

and the rest of the accreted terranes should form a third zone 

by exclusion (fig. 3). The accreted terranes docked against the 

platform throughout the Mesozoic Era (section 3.2). Older 

accreted terranes were deformed as younger ones docked 

against them. Most of the large faults within and between 

the terranes were reactivated in strike slip during the Tertiary 

Period. Thus, the crust of the accreted terranes might still be 

warmer and weaker than that of the platform, and fault rock 

within and between the terranes might not have had time to 

recrystallize to the strengths of platform faults. Either factor 

could favor more seismic slip within the accreted terranes than 

within the platform. For these reasons, if the platform is made 

a second source zone, we suggest that the accreted terranes not 

be included.

6.2. Maximum Magnitudes (M[max])

The magnitudes (M) of the earthquakes mentioned in this 

section may change as the USGS catalog of Afghan earthquakes is completed (Section 4). Also, the catalog magnitudes 

may be of more than one type, and some may have to be converted to moment magnitudes. Thus, the following suggestions 

should be checked against the final M values of the Afghan 

catalog.

The preliminary earthquake catalog shown in figures 4 

and 5 contains six crustal earthquakes of M 7.0 or larger. The 

smallest three are the largest earthquakes that figure 4 shows 

in the plate boundary. One earthquake of M 7.0 and two of M 

7.1 occurred within the cluster of plate-boundary seismicity 

that is centered in Pakistan at latitude 30° N., longitude 68° E. 

In contrast, the three largest crustal earthquakes occurred in 

the North Afghan platform. One shock of M 7.2 and another 

of M 7.6 occurred in the Tajikistan part of the platform. Their 

epicenters were at the western two of the three large red dots 

north of Afghanistan in fig. 4. Another M 7.6 earthquake 

occurred in the Afghan part of the platform. Its epicenter is 

the southwesternmost large red dot that figure 4 shows in the 

platform. Thus, when the Afghan catalog and its magnitudes 

are completed, the historical record is likely to require that 

the platform have M(max) at least as large as moment magnitude Mw 7.6. The geologic similarities of the North Afghan 

platform and the Appalachian Mountains (section 6.1) would 

be consistent with such an assignment, because the similarities 

may indicate that the platform should have M(max) at least as 

large as the Mw 7.5 that Wheeler and Frankel (2000) assigned 

to the Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The younger tectonic age and more recent orogenic 

activity of the accreted terranes south of the platform could be 

seen as indicating an M(max) at least as large as that assumed 

for the platform. However, the accreted terranes are no more 

seismically active than the central and western parts of the 

platform (fig. 4). Similar low levels of crustal seismicity could 

be grounds for assigning the same M(max) to all of Afghanistan except the transpressional plate boundary.

The plate boundary is a continental transform system. 

Other continental transform systems that also are of great 

Seismi-Hazard Computations 11
length, have large total displacement, and have slip measured 

in cm/yr include the San Andreas, North Anatolian, Alpine, 

and Denali faults. These analogs would support an M(max) for 

the transpressional boundary that is larger than whatever values are chosen for the North Afghan platform and the region 

of accreted terranes.

The mantle earthquakes of northeastern Afghanistan 

included 19 of M 7.0 or larger. Of these, five had M 7.4, two 

had M 7.5, and three had M 7.6. These values and the greater 

number of the large mantle earthquakes compared to the large 

crustal earthquakes argue for M(max) at least as high as M 7.6 

for the mantle seismicity.

6.3. Attenuation Relations

The transpressional plate boundary of eastern Afghanistan is dominated by numerous active strike-slip faults of 

many sizes, and it has ubiquitous and abundant seismicity (fig. 

3, section 3.2). Tectonic maps show many reverse and oblique 

strike-slip faults that are appropriately oriented to accommodate some of the transpression (Chmyriov and Mirzad, 1971; 

Shareq, 1981). The history of large, rapid, transpressional 

movement may have fractured intensely the rocks throughout 

the plate boundary. The best North American analog could be 

the San Andreas fault system. If so, then one or more California attenuation relations may be the most appropriate for 

crustal earthquakes in the plate boundary.

As argued in section 6.1, the best North American 

geologic and tectonic analogue to the North Afghan platform appears to be the Appalachian Mountains. The analogy 

suggests that attenuation relations developed for the central 

and eastern United States could be appropriate for the North 

Afghan platform.

The accreted terranes of Middle Afghanistan and southern 

Afghanistan lack a clear North American geologic or tectonic 

analogue. It is presently unclear whether the accreted terranes 

are undergoing strike-slip reactivation of their faults. Thus, an 

analogy to western California and its strike-slip faulting may or 

may not be appropriate. Although the Hari Rod fault incorporates Neogene grabens (section 5.2), it is presently unclear 

whether the young grabens represent extensive extensional 

faulting throughout the accreted terranes, such as that of the 

Basin and Range province. It is possible that ongoing geologic 

mapping and estimation of fault slip-rates by other USGS personnel (section 2.2) may resolve some of these uncertainties. 

However, present geologic information appears insufficient 

to provide a clear guide for the choice of attenuation relations 

for the Afghan accreted terranes. If attenuation relations for 

strike-slip and extensional environments do not predict greatly 

different hazard, perhaps a combination of both attenuation 

treatments could represent the uncertainty arising from lack of 

a clear North American tectonic or geologic analogue.

7. Acknowledgements

The United States Agency for International Development funded the compilation and analysis reported here. We 

thank G. Ulmishek for translations from the Russian, and E. 

Bergman, R.G. Bohannon, C.S. Mueller, D.A. Sawyer, S. 

Sipkin, and R.R. Wahl for discussions, data, and explanations. 

Suggestions of C. Ruleman and C.S. Mueller improved the 

manuscript.

8. Literature Cited

Ambraseys, Nicholas, and Bilham, Roger, 2003, Earthquakes 

in Afghanistan: Seismological Research Letters, v. 74, 

no. 2, p. 107–123.

Broadbent, Tanya, and Allan Cartography, 1994, Maps of 

the stable continental regions, in Schneider, J.F., ed., The 

earthquakes of stable continental regions—v. 5, Appendix 

G: Palo Alto, California, Electric Power Research Institute, 

15 plates, scales 1:12,500,000 and 1:20,000,000.

Brookfield, M.E., and Hashmat, Ajruddin, 2001, The geology 

and petroleum potential of the North Afghan platform and 

adjacent areas (northern Afghanistan, with parts of southern 

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan): Earth-Science 

Reviews, v. 55, p. 41–71.

Chmyriov, V.M., and Mirzad, S.H., eds., 1971, Tectonic map 

of Afghanistan: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and 

Industries of Royal Afghanistan, Department of Geology 

and Mines, 4 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

Chmyriov, V.M., and Mirzad, S.H., eds., 1972, Geologic map 

of Afghanistan: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and 

Industries of Royal Afghanistan, Department of Geology 

and Mines, 4 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., and Stein, S., 1990, 

Current plate motions: Geophysical Journal International, 

v. 101, p. 425–478.

DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., and Stein, S., 1994, 

Effect of recent revisions to the geomagnetic reversal time 

scale on estimates of current plate motions: Geophysical 

Research Letters, v. 21, no. 20, p. 2191–2194.

Everett, J.R., Morisawa, Marie, and Short, N.M., Sr., 1986, 

Tectonic landforms, in Short, N.M., Sr., and Blair, R.W., Jr., 

eds., Geomorphology from space: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, ch. 2, 6 p., 61 plates (http://daac.gsfc.

nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_HOME_

PAGE.html, accessed Nov. 22, 2004).

12 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Exxon Production Research Company, 1985, Tectonic map 

of the World: 21 sheets, scale 1:10,000,000 at the equator 

(copyrighted and publicly distributed by American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 

1994).

Frankel, Arthur, 1995, Mapping seismic hazard in the central 

and eastern United States: Seismological Research Letters, 

v. 66, no. 4, p. 8–21.

Gower, H.D., Yount, J.C., and Crosson, R.S., 1985, Seismotectonic map of the Puget Sound region, Washington: U.S. 

Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map 

I-1613, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000, 15 p. pamphlet.

Hadley, J.B., and Devine, J.F., 1974, Seismotectonic map of 

the United States: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous 

Field Studies Map MF-620, 3 sheets, scale 1:5,000,000, 8 p. 

pamphlet.

Haghipour, A., 1992, Seismotectonic map of the Middle 

East: Tehran, Iran, Geological Survey of Iran and Commission for the Geological Map of the World, 1 sheet, scale 

1:5,000,000.

Haghipour, A., Ghorashi, M., and Kadjar, M.H., 1984a, 

Seismotectonic map of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan: 

Commission for the Geological Map of the World, United 

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 

and Geological Survey of Iran, 1 sheet, scale 1:5,000,000, 

24 p. pamphlet.

Haghipour, A., Ghorashi, M., and Kadjar, M.H., 1984b, 

Explanatory text of the seismotectonic map of Iran, 

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Tehran, Iran, Commission for the 

Geological Map of the World, United Nations Educational, 

Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Geological Survey 

of Iran, 24 p.

Hessami, Khaled, Jamali, Farshad, and Tabassi, Hadi, 2003, 

Major active faults of Iran: Tehran, Iran, International 

Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, 1 

sheet, scale 1:2,500,000 (http://www.iiees.ac.ir/seismology/

ActiveFault.pdf, accessed November 11, 2004).

Johnston, A.C., 1989, The seismicity of ‘stable continental interiors’, in Gregersen, S., and Basham, P.W., eds., 

Earthquakes at North-Atlantic passive margins—Neotectonics and postglacial rebound: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 

Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 299–327.

Johnston, A.C., 1994, Seismotectonic interpretations and 

conclusions from the stable continental region seismicity 

database, in Schneider, J.F., ed., The earthquakes of stable 

continental regions—v. 1, Assessment of large earthquake 

potential: Palo Alto, California, Electric Power Research 

Institute, p. 4-1–4-103.

Kaila, K.L., Rao, N.M., and Narain, H., 1974, Seismotectonic 

maps of southwest Asia region comprising eastern Turkey, 

Caucasus, Persian Plateau, Afghanistan and Hindukush: 

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 64, no. 

3, p. 657–669.

Kanter, L.R., 1994, Tectonic interpretation of stable continental crust, in Schneider, J.F., ed., The earthquakes of stable 

continental regions—v. 1, Assessment of large earthquake 

potential: Palo Alto, California, Electric Power Research 

Institute, p. 2-1–2-98.

Kazmi, A.H., 1979, Preliminary seismotectonic map of 

Pakistan: Geological Survey of Pakistan, 1 sheet, scale 

1:2,000,000.

Kazmi, A.H., and Rana, R.A., 1982, Tectonic map of Pakistan: 

Geological Survey of Pakistan, 1 sheet, scale 1:2,000,000.

Kingston, John, and Clarke, J.W., 1995, Petroleum geology and resources of Afghanistan: International Geology 

Review, v. 37, p. 111–127.

Lawrence, R.D., Khan, S. Hasan, and Nakata, T., 1992, Chaman fault, Pakistan-Afghanistan, in Bucknam, R.C., and 

Hancock, P.L., eds., Major active faults of the world—

Results of IGCP project 206: Annales Tectonicae, supplement to v. 6, p. 196–223.

McCalpin, J.P., and Nelson, A.R., 1996, Introduction to paleoseismology, in McCalpin, J.P., ed., Paleoseismology: San 

Diego, Academic Press, p. 1–32.

Obermeier, S.F., 1996, Using liquefaction-induced features for 

paleoseismic analysis, in McCalpin, J., ed., Paleoseismology: San Diego, Academic Press, p. 331–396.

Pegler, G., and Das, S., 1998, An enhanced image of the 

Pamir-Hindu Kush seismic zone from relocated earthquake 

hypocenters: Geophysical Journal International, v. 134, no. 

573–595.

Prevot, R., Hatzfeld, D., Roecker, S.W., and Molnar, P., 

1980, Shallow earthquakes and active tectonics in eastern 

Afghanistan: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 85, no. 

B3, p. 1347–1357.

Literature Cited 13
Quittmeyer, R.C., and Jacob, K.H., 1979, Historical and modern seismicity of Pakistan, Afghanistan, northwestern India, 

and southeastern Iran: Bulletin of the Seismological Society 

of America, v. 69, p. 773–823.

Rhea, Susan, and Wheeler, R.L., 1994a, Map showing large 

structures interpreted from geophysical data in the vicinity 

of New Madrid, Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2264-B, 1 sheet, scale 

1:250,000.

Rhea, Susan, and Wheeler, R.L., 1994b, Map showing locations of geophysical survey and modeling lines in the 

vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey 

Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2264-C, 1 sheet, scale 

1:250,000.

Rhea, Susan, and Wheeler, R.L., 1995, Map showing synopsis 

of seismotectonic features in the vicinity of New Madrid, 

Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-2551, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Rhea, Susan, and Wheeler, R.L., 1996, Map showing seismicity in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, 

Indiana, and Kentucky: U. S. Geological Survey Geologic 

Investigations Map I-2583-A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000, 14 p. 

pamphlet.

Rhea, Susan, Wheeler, R.L., and Hopper, M.G., 1996, Map 

showing earthquake intensities in the vicinity of the lower 

Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky: U. S. 

Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Map I-2583-B, 1 

sheet, scale 1:250,000, 6 p. pamphlet.

Rhea, Susan, Wheeler, R.L., and Tarr, A.C., 1994, Map 

showing seismicity and sand blows in the vicinity of New 

Madrid, Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous 

Field Studies Map MF-2264-A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Sarwar, Ghulam, and De Jong, K.A., 1979, Arcs, oroclines, 

syntaxes—The curvatures of mountain belts in Pakistan, 

in Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of 

Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, 

p. 341–349.

Sborshchikov, I.M., Savostin, L.A., and Zonenshayn, L.P., 

1981, Present plate tectonics between Turkey and Tibet: 

Tectonophysics, v. 79, no. 1-2, p. 45–73.

Schreiber, Alfred, Weippert, Dietrich, Wittekindt, H.-P., and 

Wolfart, Reinhard, 1972, Geology and petroleum potentials 

of Central and South Afghanistan: The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 56, no. 8, p. 

1494–1519.

Sengor, A.M.C., 1984, The Cimmeride orogenic system and 

the tectonics of Eurasia: Geological Society of America 

Special Paper 195, 82 p.

Shareq, Abdullah, 1981, Geological and geophysical investigations carried out in Afghanistan over the period 1972–

1979, in Gupta, H.K., and Delany, F.M., eds., Zagros, Hindu 

Kush, Himalaya—Geodynamic evolution: American Geophysical Union Geodynamics Series 3, p. 75–86, 1 folded 

plate, scale 1:2,500,000. 

Shareq, Abdullah, 1992, Major active faults in Afghanistan, 

in Section I-2-09, Evaluation of active faults and seismic 

hazards: International Geological Congress, 29th, Kyoto, 

1992 [Abstracts], p. 77.

Shareq, Abdullah, 1993, Seismic hazard in the Islamic State 

of Afghanistan, in McGuire, R.K., ed., The practice of 

earthquake hazard assessment: International Association of 

Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior, p. 1–6.

Shareq, Abdullah, and Chmyriov, V.M., 1977, Map of mineral 

resources of Afghanistan: Ministry of Mines and Industries 

of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Department of 

Geological and Mineral Survey, scale 1:500,000.

Tapponnier, P., Mattauer, M., Proust, F., and Cassaigneau, C., 

1981, Mesozoic ophiolites, sutures, and large-scale tectonic 

movements in Afghanistan: Earth and Planetary Science 

Letters, v. 52, p. 355–371.

Treloar, P.J., and Izatt, C.N., 1993, Tectonics of the Himalayan collision between the Indian Plate and the Afghan 

Block—A synthesis, in Treloar, P.J., and Searle, M.P., eds., 

Himalayan tectonics: Geological Society Special Publications, p. 69–87.

Trifonov, V.G., 1978, Late Quaternary tectonic movements of 

western and central Asia: Geological Society of America 

Bulletin, v. 89, p. 1059–1072.

Trifonov, V.G., 1999, Neotectonics of Eurasia (in Russian): 

Moscow, Russia, Nauchnyi Mir (Scientific World) Press, 

252 p.

Trifonov, V.G., 2000, Using active faults for estimating seismic hazard: Journal of Earthquake Prediction Research, 

v. 8, p. 157–174.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia 

and the Pacific, 1995, Geology and Mineral Resources of 

Afghanistan, Atlas of Mineral Resources of the ESCAP 

Region, v. 11: New York, United Nations, 4 maps, scales 

1:2,000,000, 1:2,500,000, 85 p.

Wellman, H.W., 1965, Active wrench faults of Iran, 

Afghanistan, and Pakistan: Geologische Rundschau, v. 55, 

p. 716–735.

Wheeler, R.L., 2002, Distinguishing seismic from nonseismic 

soft-sediment structures—Criteria from seismic-hazard 

analysis, in Ettensohn, F.R., Rast, Nicholas, and Brett, C.E., 

eds., Ancient seismites: Boulder, Colorado, Geological 

Society of America Special Paper 359, p. 1–11.

14 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Wheeler, R.L., Diehl, S.F., Rhea, Susan, Sargent, M.L., and 

Bear, G.W., 1997a, Map showing selected wells and geophysical survey and modeling lines in the vicinity of the 

lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky: U.S. 

Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Map I-2583-C, 1 

sheet, scale 1:250,000, 16 p. pamphlet.

Wheeler, R.L., and Frankel, Arthur, 2000, Geology in the 

1996 USGS seismic-hazard maps, central and eastern 

United States: Seismological Research Letters, v. 71, no. 2, 

p. 273–282.

Wheeler, R.L., and Rhea, Susan, 1994, Map showing surficial 

and hydrologic features in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies 

Map MF-2264-E, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Wheeler, R.L., Rhea, Susan, and Dart, R.L., 1994, Map showing structure of the Mississippi Valley graben in the vicinity 

of New Madrid, Missouri: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2264-D, 1 sheet, scale 

1:250,000.

Wheeler, R.L., Rhea, Susan, Diehl, S.F., Drahovzal, J.A., 

Bear, G.W., and Sargent, M.L., 1997b, Seismotectonic map 

showing faults, igneous rocks, and geophysical and neotectonic features in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, 

Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey 

Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2583-D, 1 sheet, scale 

1:250,000, 19 p. pamphlet.

Wittekindt, H.-P., Wolfart, Reinhard, and Moores, E.M., 1997, 

Afghanistan, in Moores, E.M., and Fairbridge, R.W., eds., 

Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology: 

London, Chapman and Hall, p. 1–7.

Wolfart, Reinhard, and Wittekindt, Hanspeter, 1980, Geologie 

von Afghanistan: Berlin and Stuttgart, Federal Republic of 

Germany, Gebrueder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, 

500 p., 3 folded maps, scale 1:4,000,000 (in German with 

14 p. English Summary).

Yeats, R.S., Lawrence, R.D., Jamil-Ud-Din, Syed, and Khan, 

S.H., 1979, Surface effects of the 16 March 1978 earthquake, Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Farah, Abul, and De 

Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, p. 359–361.

Zoback, M.D., and Zoback, M.L., 1991, Tectonic stress field 

of North America and relative plate motions, in Slemmons, 

D.B., Engdahl, E.R., Zoback, M.D., and Blackwell, D.D., 

eds., Neotectonics of North America: Boulder, Colorado, 

Geological Society of America Decade Map Volume 1, 

p. 339–366.

Zoback, M.L., 1992, First- and second-order patterns of stress 

in the lithosphere—The World Stress Map Project: Journal 

of Geophysical Research, v. 97, no. B8, p. 11703–11728.

Zoback, M.L., Zoback, M.D., Adams, John, Assumpcao, M., 

Bell, S., Bergman, E.A., Blumling, P., Brereton, N.R., Denham, D., Ding, J., Fuchs, K., Gay, N., Gregersen, S., Gupta, 

H.K., Gvishiani, A., Jacob, Klaus, Klein, R., Knoll, P., 

Magee, M., Mercier, J.L., Muller, B.C., Paquin, C., Rajendran, K., Stephansson, O., Suarez, G., Suter, M., Udias, A., 

Xu, Z.H., and Zhizhin, M., 1989, Global patterns of tectonic 

stress: Nature, v. 341, no. 6240, p. 291–298.

Zoback, M.L., Zoback, M.D., Adams, John, Bell, S., Suter, 

M., Suarez, G., Jacob, Klaus, Estabrook, C., and Magee, 

M., 1991, Stress map of North America: Geological Society 

of America, 4 sheets, scale 1:5,000,000.

Literature Cited 15
Appendix 1. Variable names and 

spellings of Afghan faults

Locations, names, and spellings of the names of Afghan 

faults vary between authors, between papers by the same 

author, and occasionally within a single paper. This may 

be because spelling of translated Persian and Arabic words 

commonly is phonetically based (R.G. Bohannon, oral commun., February 10, 2005), and varies with accent, region, and 

personal preference.

No attempt is made here to rationalize locations, names, 

or spellings. Instead, we took as authoritative the names and 

Table 1. Variable names and spellings of main Afghan faults.—Continued.

Preferred name Variants

Alburz Marmul Alburs-Mormul (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980); Alburz-Marmul 

(Shareq, 1981, 1993); Alburz-Mormul (Kingston and Clarke, 

1995); Alburz-Momul (Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001)

Andarab Part of Andarab-Mirza Wolang (Shareq, 1981, 1993) and AnderabMirzawolang (Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001); part of Talemazar 

(Wellman, 1965; Trifonov, 1978)

Bande Bayan Most authors included this fault as part of Qarghanaw, no variants 

found

Bande Turkestan Bande Turkestan-Bande Amir (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980); Bandi 

Turkestan (Shareq, 1993); Banrie Turkestan (UNESCAP, 1995); 

Band-e-Turkestan (Shareq, 1981; Wittekindt and others, 1997)

1, 2Chaman Caman (Chmyriov and Mirzad, 1971; Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980; 

UNESCAP, 1995) 

Central Badakhsan Central Badakhshan (Lawrence and others, 1992; Shareq, 1981, 

1993; UNESCAP, 1995); Zentral Badakhshan (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980); Central Badakshan (Wittekindt and others, 1997); 

Central Badakhstan (Treloar and Izatt, 1993; Wittekindt and others, 1997); Gunt-Alichur (Everett and others, 1986)

Darafshan (Wellman, 1965) Tirin (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980; Wittekindt and others, 1997)

Darvaz (Trifonov, 1978) Darwaz Karakul (Prevot and others, 1980); Khokan (Shareq, 1981); 

Khohan-Ishkamish (Shareq, 1993); Khoakan (Wittekindt and 

others, 1997); Darvaz-Alai (Trifonov, 1999); Ishkamish-Khohon 

(Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001)

Dosi Mirzavalan Mirzavalan Dosi (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980); Mirzavalang 

(Kingston and Clarke, 1995); Anderab-Mirzawolang (Brookfield 

and Hashmat, 2001); Andarab-Mirza Wolang (Shareq, 1981, 

1993); part of Talemazar (Trifonov, 1978)

Gardez (Lawrence and others, 1992) No variants found

3

Hari Rod Hari-Rod (Shareq, 1981); Harirod (Herat) (Shareq, 1993); Hari Rud 

(Sborshchikov and others, 1981); Harirud (Sengor, 1984; Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001); Hari-rud (Kingston and Clarke, 1995); 

Herat (Wellman, 1965; Trifonov, 1978; Quittmeyer and Jacob, 

1979; Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980; Everett and others, 1986; 

Lawrence and others, 1992; Ambraseys and Bilham, 2003)

16 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography

spellings on an inset map of the tectonic map of Chmyriov 

and Mirzad (1971). Table 1 lists them and the variants of other 

authors; the list may be incomplete. Four additional faults 

were not shown by Chmyriov and Mirzad: the Darafshan, Darvaz, Gardez, and Panjsher faults. For each of the four, table 1 

cites the source of the preferred spelling as well as the sources 

of any variant spellings. Most of the variants will not confuse 

readers and footnotes explain those that might. However, 

anyone searching GeoRef or elsewhere on the Internet for 

new information will need to search on all variants of a fault’s 

name. The publications cited in table 1 are listed and annotated in Appendix 2.

16 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Table 1. Variable names and spellings of main Afghan faults.—Continued.

Preferred name Variants

Helmand Hilmand (Shareq, 1993); Helmund (Everett and others, 1986; 

Lawrence and others, 1992; Ambraseys and Bilham, 2003); Waser 

(Schreiber and others, 1972; Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980)

Henjvan Henjran (UNESCAP, 1995); Khejwand, Khajwand (Shareq, 1981); 

most authors did not name this fault

Kaj Rod Of the papers and maps examined, only Chmyriov and Mirzad 

(1971), Wolfart and Wittekindt (1980) and UNESCAP (1995) 

named this short fault that crosses into Iran

Konar Kodar (UNESCAP, 1995); Kunar (Quittmeyer and Jacob, 1979; 

Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980; Everett and others, 1986; Lawrence 

and others, 1992; Shareq, 1981, 1993; Ambraseys and Bilham, 

2003)

2

Mokur Moqor (Wittekindt and others, 1997); Moqur (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980; Shareq, 1981); Mukur-Chaman (Sborshchikov and 

others, 1981); Mukur-Tarnak (Shareq, 1993); Muqur (Shareq, 

1981, 1993)

Onay Ona (UNESCAP, 1995); most authors did not name this short fault 

that strikes northwest between the Hari Rod and Helmand faults 

west of Kabul

Paghman Pagman (Shareq, 1981; UNESCAP, 1995). Other authors did not 

give this short fault west of Kabul a separate name but included it 

as the northernmost part of the Chaman fault

Panjshir (Shareq, 1993) Panjser (Wolfart and Wittekindt, 1980); Pansher, Pansjer (Shareq, 

1981). Many authors did not name this fault but included it as the 

southern part of the Central Badakhsan fault or the eastern part of 

the Hari Rod fault

Qarghanaw Garghanaw (Wittekindt and others, 1997); Karganaw (Shareq, 1981)

Sarobi Sarubi (Prevot and others, 1980; Lawrence and others, 1992); Safed 

Koh (Schreiber and others, 1972)

Spinghar Spin Gawh (Wittekindt and others, 1997); of the other maps examined, only that of UNESCAP (1995) named this fault

1 This is the only departure from the spellings of Chmyriov and Mirzad (1971). They used “Caman”, as did UNESCAP (1995) in its reproduction of the 

1971 map. However, all other authors use “Chaman”, including Shareq (1981, 1993) of the Afghanistan Geological Survey and the Afghanistan Academy of 

Sciences. Schreiber and others (1972) used “Chaman” and stated that their fault names and spellings were in accord with the Royal Afghan Cartographic Institute. Other users of the “h” have spent much time in Afghanistan (Wellman, 1965; Wittekindt and others, 1997).

2 Older maps show the Chaman and Mokur faults striking northeast across southeastern Afghanistan, to pass east and west of Kabul, respectively, and to 

terminate against the Hari Rod fault (Chmyriov and Mirzad [1971, 1972] and maps based on them, such as the maps of Shareq [1981, 1993] and the tectonic 

map of UNESCAP [1995]). These maps show the Mokur fault on the west as concave west, and the Chaman fault on the east as mainly concave east. At their 

closest approach, near their midpoints at latitude 32°-33°N., the two faults are shown as only 6-15 km apart. In contrast, maps based on aerial photographs, 

Landsat images, and more recent mapping tend to join the south half of the Chaman fault to the north half of the Mokur fault, with the join at the point of closest approach, and to call the result the Chaman fault (Wellman, 1965; Schreiber and others, 1972; Trifonov, 1978, 2000; Lawrence and others, 1992; Kingston 

and Clarke, 1995; the geologic map of UNESCAP, 1995; Brookfield and Hashmat, 2001). A large, seamless, full-color, Landsat mosaic that is in production by 

the USGS clearly shows that the latter interpretation of the Chaman fault is correct. Some authors now use the name Gardez fault for the remaining, northern 

half of the former Chaman fault (Prevot and others, 1980; Everett and others, 1986; Lawrence and others, 1992).

3 Afghan authors follow the Russian usage of Chmyriov and Mirzad (197l). English-speakers tend to follow the New Zealander Wellman, who named the 

fault “Herat” (Wellman, 1965, p. 724). West Germans who had mapped in Afghanistan are split, with Schreiber and others (1972) using Hari Rod and Wittekindt and others (1997) using Herat. We use the Afghan name for the fault because it lies entirely within Afghanistan.

Appendix 1. 17
Appendix 2. Annotated bibliography for 

seismotectonic map of Afghanistan

The annotations emphasize information that is pertinent 

to the seismotectonic map. They point out strengths or weaknesses of the annotated publications, make observations or 

draw inferences from them, and give cross references to other 

publications in this bibliography. Limited resources restricted 

the literature search to English-language publications and 

Afghanistan, and required a preference for review or summary 

papers. We made no attempt to trace ideas back to their first 

published appearances. For the same reason, some papers and 

maps on eastern Iran and western Pakistan are cited here for 

the reader’s information, but we did not read those that lack 

annotations. Fault names and their spellings vary because each 

is that of its annotated publication (see also Appendix 1).

Ambraseys, Nicholas, and Bilham, Roger, 2003, Earthquakes 

in Afghanistan: Seismological Research Letters, v. 74, no. 

2, p. 107–123.

Most of the paper presents and describes an earthquake 

catalog of Afghanistan and surroundings that begins in A.D. 

734. The “Tectonic Setting” section and figs. 1–2 summarize 

plate-tectonic context, blocks or subplates, main fault zones, 

seismicity clusters, and the sparse constraints on slip rates 

between plates. The figures show the Afghan border. GPS 

measurements of regional deformation rates and directions are 

too few to compare to relative plate velocities that have been 

computed from seafloor magnetic anomalies and similar data.

Berberian, Manuel, 1981, Active faulting and tectonics of 

Iran, in Gupta, H.K., and Delany, F.M., eds., Zagros, Hindu 

Kush, Himalaya—Geodynamic evolution: American Geophysical Union Geodynamics Series 3, p. 33–69.

Berberian, Manuel, Jackson, J.A., Qorashi, M., Khatib, M.M., 

Priestley, K., Talebian, M., and Ghafuri-Ashtiani, M., 

1999, The 1997 May 10 Zirkuh (Qa’enat) earthquake (Mw

7.2)—Faulting along the Sistan suture zone of eastern Iran: 

Geophysical Journal International, v. 136, no. 3, p. 671–694.

Bernard, M., Shen-Tu, B., Holt, W.E., and Davis, D.M., 2000, 

Kinematics of active deformation in the Sulaiman Lobe and 

Range, Pakistan: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 105, 

no. B6, p. 13,253–13,279.

Brookfield, M.E., and Hashmat, Ajruddin, 2001, The geology 

and petroleum potential of the North Afghan Platform and 

adjacent areas (northern Afghanistan, with parts of southern 

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan): Earth-Science 

Reviews, v. 55, no. 1-2, p. 41–71.

The North Afghan platform is bounded on the south and 

southeast by the east-striking, right-lateral Harirud fault zone. 

The Harirud and related faults continue eastward, then bend 

northeastward around the edge of the platform and eventually are continued northward as the Darvaz fault zone. The 

Harirud fault zone offsets Paleozoic rocks more than 600 

km. The southern part of the Darvaz fault zone strikes north 

and undergoes left-lateral slip, but farther north the fault 

zone bends to the northeast and adds a northwest-verging 

reverse component. The change in strike-slip sense between 

the Harirud and Darvaz fault zones occurs approximately 

north of Kabul. In contrast, most faults within the North 

Afghan platform strike east-west and lack significant offsets, 

although the known offsets are right lateral. The structural 

grain represented by the right-lateral Harirud and platform 

faults terminates farther west, near the Iran border, against the 

north-striking Seistan fault and related faults.

Nearly all of the deformation, uplift, and formation of 

petroleum traps within the North Afghan platform is of Miocene or younger age and most is younger than 5 Ma (contrast 

the conclusions of Kingston and Clarke [1995]). The Harirud 

fault zone is only sparsely seismically active; in contrast, the 

Darvaz fault zone and the aligned, north-striking, left-lateral 

Chaman fault farther south are much more seismically active. 

Brookfield and Hashmat interpret these orientations, slip 

senses, and timings as indicating northwestward convergence 

of the Indian plate against the North Afghan platform from 35 

Ma to 20 Ma, to produce the right-lateral slip on the Harirud 

and platform faults, followed by a change to northward convergence of India since 20 Ma, to produce the continuing leftlateral slip on the Chaman and Darvaz faults and the reverse 

slip on the northeastern part of the Darvaz fault.

Chandra, Umesh, 1981, Focal mechanism solutions and their 

tectonic implications for the eastern Alpine-Himalayan 

region, in Gupta, H.K., and Delany, F.M., eds., Zagros, 

Hindu Kush, Himalaya—Geodynamic evolution: American 

Geophysical Union Geodynamics Series 3, p. 243–271.

The author compiled and computed hundreds of singleearthquake focal mechanisms for shocks that occurred from 

westernmost Iran to western Burma. Eight moderate earthquakes (M 5.6–6.7) in eastern Afghanistan and western 

Pakistan yielded mechanisms. Three of the mechanisms are 

from the eastern part of the strongly arcuate, south-directed 

thrust sheets of the Sulaiman Range in Pakistan. All three 

indicate thrust faulting toward the east-southeast, consistently 

with the direction of vergence in the active thrust complex. 

Three other mechanisms from the central and western part of 

the Sulaiman Range thrust sheets, and a fourth from farther 

west in Afghanistan, indicate strike slip under north-northwest 

shortening, consistently with possible tear faults in the active 

thrust complex and with active left-lateral strike slip on and 

near the north-striking Chaman fault in Afghanistan. Most of 

the 14 mechanisms from the Hindu Kush and surroundings 

were subcrustal (see also Chatelain and others, 1980; Pegler 

and Das, 1998), but one crustal earthquake indicates thrust 

faulting under northwest-southeast shortening.

18 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Chatelain, J.L., Roecker, S.W., Hatzfeld, D., and Molnar, P., 

1980, Microearthquake seismicity and fault plane solutions in the Hindu Kush region and their tectonic implications: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 85, no. B3, p. 

1365–1387.

Two microearthquake surveys located about 600 hypocenters and determined 28 focal mechanisms (Roecker and 

others, 1980), with another 17 mechanisms coming from teleseismic data. Very few earthquakes occurred shallower than 

70 km. The data define deep zones of varying strikes and dips. 

The zones may be results of subduction of two small pieces of 

oceanic lithosphere in opposite directions (but see Pegler and 

Das, 1998).

Chmyriov, V.M., and Mirzad, S.H., eds., 1971, Tectonic map 

of Afghanistan: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and 

Industries of Royal Afghanistan, Department of Geology 

and Mines, 4 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

USGS scanned, rectified, digitized, and attributed a paper 

copy of this map that was found in Kabul. Lack of stable base 

materials and an unknown original projection degraded accuracy slightly from the nominal scale.

Chmyriov, V.M., and Mirzad, S.H., eds., 1972, Geologic map 

of Afghanistan: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and 

Industries of Royal Afghanistan, Department of Geology 

and Mines, 4 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

 USGS scanned, rectified, digitized, and attributed a 

paper copy of this map that was found in Kabul. Lack of stable 

base materials and an unknown original projection degraded 

accuracy slightly from the nominal scale.

DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., and Stein, S., 1990, 

Current plate motions: Geophysical Journal International, v. 

101, p. 425–478.

The paper describes the NUVEL-1 model of relative 

motions between 12 plates. Table 2(a) of the paper gives the 

Euler vectors for the relative motions between the Arabian, 

Eurasian, Indian, and other plates. Figure 48 shows a map of 

the India-Eurasia and Arabia-Eurasia relative velocities. The 

tabulated Euler vectors allow a reader to compute the relative 

motions of Arabia and India with respect to a fixed Eurasia: 

Arabia moves northerly along N. 4°E. at 35 mm/yr, and India 

moves along N. 6°E. at 40 mm/yr. Table 2 indicates that the 

2° difference in the relative-movement directions of Arabia 

and India is not significant. An Euler pole is provided for the 

relative motions of Arabia and India, but it has too large an 

uncertainty to be meaningful. The angular velocities of the 

Euler vectors were later revised by DeMets and others (1994).

DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., and Stein, S., 1994, 

Effect of recent revisions to the geomagnetic reversal time 

scale on estimates of current plate motions: Geophysical 

Research Letters, v. 21, no. 20, p. 2191–2194.

The relative motions of NUVEL-1 (DeMets and others, 1990) are too fast. The optimal correction is to multiply 

them by 0.9562. The results are tabulated as NUVEL-1A. 

Space geodetic rates had been slower on average than those 

of NUVEL-1 by 6 percent; the discrepancy is reduced to less 

than 2 percent when space geodetic rates are compared to 

NUVEL-1A. Table 2 of the paper gives the new relative angular velocities between the Arabian, Indian, Eurasian, and other 

plates. From these, a reader can calculate that Arabia moves 

northward with respect to a fixed Eurasia at 33 mm/yr, and 

India does the same at 39 mm/yr.

The 39 mm/yr result is for a site in the east wall of the 

left-lateral Ornach-Nal fault, which strikes north in southwestern Pakistan. The Ornach-Nal fault is southeast of the 

Chaman fault and within the transpressional zone that accommodates most motion between Afghanistan and India at that 

latitude (Lawrence and others, 1992). Sella and others (2002, 

p. 27) calculated a NUVEL-1A rate of 48 mm/yr for a site 

in southern India. The southern India site is farther from the 

Euler pole in northern Africa than is the site in southwestern Pakistan. The greater distance would produce a larger 

northward velocity for southern India, but probably not large 

enough to account for 9 mm/yr of difference between the 

two sites. Part of the difference may be taken up by minor 

motion on north-striking faults east of the Ornach-Nal fault; 

the seismotectonic map of Kazmi (1979b) shows several faults 

there and labels them “probable Recent”. Therefore, the relative motion between India and Eurasia across southeastern 

Afghanistan and adjacent Pakistan might be represented best 

as 39–48 mm/yr.

Everett, J.R., Morisawa, M., and Short, N.M., Sr., 1986, 

Tectonic landforms, in Short, N.M., Sr., and Blair, R.W., Jr., 

eds., Geomorphology from space: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, ch. 2, 6 p., 61 plates (http://daac.gsfc.

nasa. gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_HOME_

PAGE.html, accessed Nov. 22, 2004).

This book is out of print but available digitally. Plate T-43 

features a Landsat mosaic showing Afghanistan and surroundings, with a page-sized index map showing the traces and 

names of the main faults from the western Himalaya of India 

to central Iran. The preparer of the map is anonymous, the 

sources are unstated, and no international borders are shown.

Exxon Production Research Company, 1985, Tectonic map 

of the World: 21 sheets, scale 1:10,000,000 at the equator 

(copyrighted and publicly distributed by American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 

1994).

The map shows the Seistan basin in southwestern 

Afghanistan and the North Afghanistan basin in the north as 

platforms with 0–2 km of sedimentary cover. The cover of the 

North Afghanistan basin thickens northward to 5–6 km at the 

Afghan border.

Between the two basins is a broad, east-trending belt of 

exposed orogenic rocks that were deformed at various times. 

Appendix 2. 19
The northern part of this belt of orogenic rocks is what the 

folded plate of Shareq (1981) refers to as the Middle Afghanistan geosuture zone. Middle Afghanistan lies between the Hari 

Rod fault, on the north, and the Qarghanaw, Bande Bayan, and 

Onay faults, on the south. The most abundant rocks within the 

geosuture zone were deformed during Pennsylvanian to Early 

Triassic time (Hercynian orogeny). Less abundant within the 

zone are rocks that were deformed during Late Precambrian 

to Middle Cambrian time (Baikalian orogeny), extrusive and 

intrusive rocks of Late Cretaceous to Oligocene age, and 

ophiolites of unspecified age. From the eastern end of the 

Middle Afghanistan geosuture zone in the vicinity of Kabul, 

the rocks that were deformed during Pennsylvanian to Early 

Triassic time form a belt roughly 100 km wide that sweeps 

northeastward and then northward through northernmost 

Afghanistan into Tajikistan. This belt that extends from Kabul 

into Tajikistan is bounded on the west by the Darvaz fault and 

on the east by the Central Badakhsan fault.

South of the Middle Afghanistan geosuture zone lie rocks 

that were deformed during the Late Precambrian to Middle 

Cambrian Baikalian orogeny, rocks deformed during Late 

Cretaceous to Oligocene time and coeval extrusive rocks, a 

few Miocene to Recent extrusive rocks and active volcanoes, 

and ophiolites of Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous age. This 

complex of rocks extends east to the Chaman fault. East of the 

Chaman fault are rocks deformed during Late Cretaceous to 

Oligocene age, which extend into Pakistan. These rocks east 

of the Chaman fault also extend northeast, east of the Central 

Badakhsan fault within Afghanistan and adjacent Pakistan.

Haghipour, A., 1992, Seismotectonic map of the Middle 

East: Geological Survey of Iran and Commission for the 

Geological Map of the World, Teheran, Iran, 1 sheet, scale 

1:5,000,000.

This large-format map shows the region from westernmost China and India in the east to central Sudan and southeasternmost Bulgaria in the west. The tectonic elements shown 

include plate boundaries and motion vectors, deformed zones 

that are color-coded by age of the most recent major deformation, large faults with senses of movement and some slip rates, 

free-air gravity isogals, Moho depth contours, and centers 

of young basins. Earthquake epicenters are coded by year 

of occurrence, magnitude, and focal depth. A footnote cites 

compilation sources and attributes the Afghan portion of the 

map to Haghipour and others (1984a). Two strategic omissions 

hinder study of the map by readers unfamiliar with the region. 

First, the main basins, tectonic blocks, and geographic features 

are named but faults are not. Second, international borders are 

absent from the map.

Haghipour, A., Ghorashi, M., and Kadjar, M.H. (compilers), 

1984a, Seismotectonic map of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Teheran, Iran, Commission for the Geological Map of 

the World, 1 sheet, scale 1:5,000,000, 24 p. pamphlet.

The map covers approximately the northeastern half of 

the map of Haghipour (1992). One inset map shows contours 

of “possible potential peak horizontal ground acceleration”. A 

second shows earthquake focal mechanisms, schematic plate 

boundaries, relative-motion vectors, and slip senses of main 

faults. A sequence of 11 tectonically-oriented stratigraphic 

columns labels each column with the names of the parts of 

the map area to which it applies. However, the names do not 

appear on the map itself, which causes difficulty in linking the 

columns to the map. An atlas with a good index will help the 

reader. The pamphlet that accompanies the map (Haghipour 

and others, 1984b) is cited separately here because the USGS 

library files them separately.

Haghipour, A., Ghorashi, M., and Kadjar, M.H., 1984b, 

Explanatory text of the seismotectonic map of Iran, 

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Tehran, Iran, Commission for the 

Geological Map of the World, United Nations Educational, 

Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Geological Survey 

of Iran, 24 p.

This is the pamphlet that accompanies the map of 

Haghipour and others (1984a). They are cited separately 

because the USGS library files them separately. The pamphlet 

summarizes some of the decisions that led to design of the 

map, and provides short descriptions of the tectonic histories of the regions to which each stratigraphic column of the 

map applies. One chapter on neotectonics and another on 

seismotectonics and seismicity occupy nearly one-half of the 

pamphlet. Central and western Afghanistan form a southprojecting promontory of Eurasia, against which the Indian 

plate subducts from the south and the Arabian plate subducts 

from the south-southwest. Contractional strike-slip faulting 

predominates in and near Afghanistan. The main reversefaulting regimes in the map area are driven by subduction in 

the Makran ranges south of Afghanistan, in the thin-skinned 

fold-and-thrust ranges of northwestern Pakistan, and in the 

deeply penetrating continental subduction zones in and around 

northeastern Afghanistan. Extensional faulting and focal 

mechanisms are rare. Seismicity in and near Afghanistan is 

concentrated in and near the north-trending continental transform zones to the east and west, in the Makran subduction 

zone south of Afghanistan, and especially in the Hindu Kush 

and Pamirs. The Hindu Kush-Pamirs area is part of the Himalayan continental subduction zone in and around northeastern 

Afghanistan. Subcrustal seismicity in or near Afghanistan is 

largely limited to the Hindu Kush-Pamirs area. North-central 

Afghanistan is sparsely seismically active and western and 

central Afghanistan are still less active.

Hessami, Khaled, Jamali, Farshad, and Tabassi, Hadi, 2003, 

Major active faults of Iran: International Institute of 

Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Tehran, Iran, 1 

sheet, scale 1:2,500,000 (http://www.iiees.ac.ir/seismology/

ActiveFault.pdf, accessed Nov. 30, 2004).

The large-format map shows many tens of faults, some 

as short as approximately 10 km. Ornamentation and subtle 

shades of red distinguish reverse faults, strike-slip faults, and 

faults of unknown slip sense; known and inferred faults; and 

20 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
faults with coseismic surface ruptures, faults with attributed 

seismicity but no surface ruptures, and faults with Quaternary 

offset. Notable earthquakes are represented by their epicenters, dated focal mechanisms, horizontal components of slip 

vectors, and horizontal components of the maximum principal stress computed from the individual focal mechanisms 

(actually, greatest shortening), but magnitudes are not given. 

An explanatory text includes some conclusions drawn from 

examination of the map. The text cites the ten main sources 

but does not give their references.

Heuckroth, L.E., and Karim, R.A., 1973, Afghan seismotectonics: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of 

London, Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, v. 

274, p. 389–395.

The authors examined Wellman’s (1965) map of active 

faults in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan that he developed 

from study of air photo mosaics. Largely from Wellman’s map 

and superposed locations of Afghan earthquakes, the authors 

developed a speculative tectonic model for central Iran and 

most of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the model is undercut 

by a scarcity of citations or summaries of evidence to support 

their assertions, by failure to consider the large active faults of 

western Pakistan, and by a lack of historical seismicity along 

the Herat fault that the model predicts to be presently active.

Ioffe, A.I., Govorova, N., Volchkova, G., Irifonov, R., 1993, 

Data base of active faults for the USSR area: Geoinformatics, v. 4, p. 289–290.

The paper is an early version of Ioffe and Kozhurin 

(1996). Listings of three Turkish faults show the ASCII format 

used for database entries. Data are not given for any other 

faults. Data were compiled from maps at scales ranging from 

1:500,000 to 1:2,500,000. See also Trifonov (2000, 2004).

Ioffe, A.I., Kozhurin, A.I., 1996, Database of active faults of 

Eurasia: Journal of Earthquake Prediction Research, v. 5, 

p. 431–435.

The described database is that compiled for the easternhemisphere half of a World Map of Active Faults (Trifonov, 

2004). Data are in the form of ASCII (text) files for ease of 

dissemination and incorporation into GIS. At the time of writing, the database contained information on over 6,000 faults 

from nearly all of Eurasia except northern Europe. The paper 

contains data only for one example on northern Sakhalin Island 

in eastern Russia. An appendix describes the 16 fields in a typical database record. The fields include the time of most recent 

movement, slip rate in mm/yr, dip, slip sense, various kinds of 

field observations, a reliability estimate, and cited sources.

Kaila, K.L., Rao, N.M., and Narain, H., 1974, Seismotectonic 

maps of southwest Asia region comprising eastern Turkey, 

Caucasus, Persian Plateau, Afghanistan and Hindukush: 

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 64, no. 

3, p. 657–669.

Maps of a-values, b-values, and return periods of earthquakes of magnitude 6 and larger are compared with regional 

tectonics. The paper suggests that specific individual faults 

within broad areas of high seismicity are active, but the small 

scale of the maps renders the suggestions untestable.

Kazmi, A.H., 1979a, Active fault systems in Pakistan, in

Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of 

Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, 

p. 286–294.

Kazmi, A.H., 1979b, Preliminary seismotectonic map of Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, scale 

1:2,000,000.

The map shows earthquake epicenters, faults, and ages of 

exposed deposits and rocks. Epicenters are coded by depth and 

magnitude of the corresponding earthquakes. Patterns distinguish Quaternary deposits from pre-Quaternary rocks. Red 

solid and dashed lines distinguish active faults from probable 

Recent faults. Black dotted lines show lineaments, and solid 

black lines are ornamented to distinguish inactive reverse, 

thrust, strike-slip, and undifferentiated faults. One inset map 

shows locations and affected areas of damaging earthquakes. A 

second inset map divides Pakistan into 15 provinces of different seismicity levels and abundances of active faults. The map 

does not explain criteria or describe evidence for distinguishing 

active from inactive faults. However, Kazmi (1979a) does.

Kazmi, A.H., and Rana, R.A., compilers, 1982, Tectonic map 

of Pakistan: Geological Survey of Pakistan, 1 sheet, scale 

1:2,000,000.

Kingston, John, and Clarke, J.W., 1995, Petroleum geology and resources of Afghanistan: International Geology 

Review, v. 37, no. 2, p. 111–127.

The southern portion of the Eurasian continental platform 

in northern Afghanistan is bounded on the south and east by 

a series of northeast-trending accreted continental terranes. 

Sutures containing ophiolites separate the terranes and are 

interpreted as remnants of subducted oceanic crust. The North 

Afghanistan basin is on the platform north of the accreted terranes. The basin represents the southeastern part of the mature 

Amu Dar’ya gas-oil province of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Kingston and Clarke conclude that the basin contains 

the only appreciable Afghan petroleum prospects. Traps are 

in folds inferred to overlie reactivated basement faults. The 

largest of these faults strike east-west; the authors mention the 

Alburz-Mormul and Mirzavalang faults in Afghanistan, and 

figure 2 locates both faults. Older traps grew during the Mesozoic; whereas younger ones began to develop during the early 

Neogene with growth peaking in the Pliocene and continuing 

today (contrast Brookfield and Hashmat [2001]). Figure 1 of 

the paper applies the name Hari-rud to a poorly defined fault 

zone that strikes northerly through easternmost Iran, contrary 

to all other usage of variants of this name (see table 1 above).

Appendix 2. 21
Lawrence, R.D., Hasan Khan, S., Nakata, T., 1992, Chaman 

Fault, Pakistan-Afghanistan, in Bucknam, R.C., and Hancock, P.L., eds., Major active faults of the world—Results 

of IGCP Project 206: Annales Tectonicae, Special Issue 

Supplement to v. 6, p. 196–223.

This is the authoritative description and analysis of the 

Chaman fault. It is based on aerial photographs and fieldwork 

on nearly all of the southern (Pakistan) half of the fault, and 

on interpretations of satellite imagery for the entire fault in 

Pakistan and Afghanistan. There is no mention of trenching 

or attempts to identify or characterize individual prehistoric 

earthquakes. The Chaman fault forms the western edge of 

the north-trending, left-lateral, transpressional plate boundary between the relatively northward-moving Indian plate on 

the east and the Eurasian plate on the west. Within its latitude range, the Chaman fault is the most active strand in the 

transpressional boundary. At its northern end, the fault terminates against the east-striking Herat fault north of Kabul.

Relatively sparse seismicity in the northern section of the 

Chaman fault and relatively more earthquakes on the Gardez 

fault, which forks northeast from the Chaman, have led to 

suggestions that modern slip bypasses the northern section of 

the Chaman fault in favor of the Gardez fault. Lawrence and 

others suggested that left-lateral strike slip may continue north 

along the aligned Chaman, Panjshir, and Central Badakhshan 

faults on the west, and along the aligned Gardez and Kunar 

faults on the east. At the south end of the Chaman fault, strike 

slip is transferred west to a complex of south-facing thrust 

faults in the Makran Coast Range of Pakistan.

Lawrence and others measured offsets and estimated ages 

of four large geologic features across the Chaman fault, obtaining a minimum slip rate of 19–24 mm/yr since 20–25 Ma. They 

cited another estimate from offset volcanic rocks of 25–35 

mm/yr since 2 Ma. In Pakistan, the Chaman fault is a zone of 

crushed bedrock with an average width of 500 m and a maximum width of 1 km. Individual fault strands can be mapped 

within the zone. Lawrence and others documented recent strike 

slip throughout the Pakistan half of the fault and showed photographs of abundant field and aerial photographic evidence of 

the recent slip: “only the alluvium of the bottom of active dry 

washes is not displaced” (p. 204). In the Afghanistan half of the 

fault, they had no field or aerial photographic data and poorer 

quality satellite images than were available for Pakistan.

North of the junction of the Chaman and Gardez faults, 

Lawrence and others did not find clear evidence of surface 

rupture on either fault except in the vicinity of the large 1505 

Kabul earthquake. South of the junction, field observations 

allowed the authors to conclude that an earthquake in 1892 

produced a surface rupture at least 60 km long, thereby doubling the literature-based length estimate of Quittmeyer and 

Jacob (1979). Lawrence and others also cited an 1893 report 

that the 1892 earthquake produced 60–75 cm of left-lateral 

slip and dropped the western wall of the Chaman fault down 

20–30 cm. Near the southern end of the Chaman fault, they 

described continuous pressure ridges parallel to the fault. 

They interpreted the ridges as indicating transpression caused 

by slight convergence of the Indian plate against the Chaman 

fault during the mainly northward relative motion of the Indian 

plate. Lawrence and others summarized reports of historical 

earthquake damage that were also summarized by Quittmeyer 

and Jacob (1979). Additionally, Lawrence and others cited 

a published report of five kilometers of ground cracking, as 

much as 4 cm of left-lateral strike slip, and smaller amounts 

of east-side-down slip, from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that 

occurred on October 3, 1975, in the same general area as the 

1892 Chaman earthquake.

Lawrence, R.D., and Yeats, R.S., 1979, Geological reconnaissance of the Chaman fault in Pakistan, in Farah, Abul, 

and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of Pakistan: Quetta, 

Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, p. 351–357.

Maggi, A., Jackson, J., McKenzie, D., and Priestly, K., 2000, 

Earthquake focal depths, effective elastic thickness and 

the strength of the continental lithosphere: Geology, v. 28, 

p. 495–498.

The authors inferred that the results of Maggi, Jackson, 

Priestly, and Baker (2000) imply that continental elastic thickness is similar to, although slightly smaller than, seismogenic 

thickness and that the continental lower crust generally is 

stronger than the upper mantle. Note that this result reinforces 

the suggestion of Pegler and Das (1998) and previous workers 

that the intermediate-depth seismicity beneath the Hindu Kush 

and Pamirs originates in a subducted slab. The suggestion 

implies that the intermediate-depth seismicity would be in subducted continental crust that is stronger than the surrounding 

mantle into which the subducted slab is penetrating.

Maggi, A., Jackson, J., Priestly, K., and Baker, C., 2000, A reassessment of focal depth distribution in southern Iran, the 

Tien Shan and northern India—Do earthquakes really occur 

in the continental mantle?: Geophysical Journal International, v. 143, p. 629–661.

The authors performed waveform modeling of teleseismic 

records of earthquakes in the Zagros and Makran subduction 

zones of southern Iran, the Tien Shan region of western China 

and Kyrgyzstan, and northern India and adjacent areas. Their 

primary purpose was to “see whether our rheological views of 

the continental lithosphere based on earthquake focal depths 

need modification in the light of the large amount of extra 

data now available since the original studies of 15–20 years 

ago” (p. 630). Within the study areas, the authors found that 

centroid depths were entirely within the continental crust, and 

they questioned whether the continental mantle is significantly 

seismically active anywhere. Note that this finding is consistent with the suggestion of Pegler and Das (1998) and previous 

workers that the intermediate-depth seismicity beneath the 

Hindu Kush and Pamirs originates in a subducted slab.

22 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Nakata, Takashi, Tsutsumi, Hiroyuki, Khan, Shahid Hasan, 

and Lawrence, Robert D., 1991, Active faults of Pakistan—

Map sheets and inventories: Hiroshima, Japan, Hiroshima 

University Research Center for Regional Geography Special 

Publication No. 21, 141 p.

The authors compiled Late Quaternary surface faults 

from recently displaced landforms as interpreted on 1:40,000-

scale aerial photographs, the literature, and their own fieldwork. Faults are shown on 1:500,000-scale topographic maps 

of 55 1° × 1° quadrangles that cover most of the northwestern 

two-thirds of Pakistan and small adjacent parts of Afghanistan 

and Iran. The authors found no active faults in the Indus Plain, 

which covers the southeastern third of Pakistan. Each fault is 

characterized by a short text and by a table containing text or 

numerical entries in 11 fields.

Pegler, G., and Das, S., 1998, An enhanced image of the 

Pamir-Hindu Kush seismic zone from relocated earthquake 

hypocenters: Geophysical Journal International, v. 134, 

p. 573–595.

The Hindu Kush are in northeastern Afghanistan and the 

Pamirs lie farther northeast, in eastern Tajikistan. The study 

analyzed many more earthquakes (about 6,000) from a larger 

area than had been studied previously. The authors’ goal was 

to determine whether the intermediate-depth earthquakes under 

the Pamirs and Hindu Kush represent a single, steeply dipping, 

contorted seismicity zone or two separate steep zones. Hypocenters were relocated with joint hypocenter determinations.

In map view, the combined intermediate-depth seismicity beneath both mountain ranges extends northeast in an 

open S that is 700 km long. In section view, the seismicity 

zone is tabular, generally no thicker than 30 km. Within the 

S-shaped, tabular zone, earthquakes cluster with gaps between 

some clusters. Beneath the Hindu Kush the zone dips steeply 

(50°–90°) north and is mostly at depths of 100–300 km, but 

beneath the Pamirs it dips steeply (50°–60°) south and is concentrated at depths from 80 km to 150–200 km. The seismicity 

zone beneath the Hindu Kush steepens eastward until, at its 

eastern end, it overturns and dips 70°–80° south. Pegler and 

Das illustrated the complex three-dimensional geometry of 

the seismicity with a series of 12 maps and 20 cross sections. 

It is unclear what geologic feature the seismicity represents. 

Chatelain and others (1980) suggested subduction of two 

small ocean basins, but Pegler and Das found no reported 

geologic evidence of subducted oceanic rocks. Pegler and Das 

concluded that the seismicity zone is continuous along its 700 

km length; previous, shorter-term studies had reported a gap 

between the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs but Pegler and Das’s 

longer-term catalog filled the gap. They cited several papers 

to demonstrate wide acceptance that the Hindu Kush intermediate-depth seismicity reflects northward subduction of part 

of the Indian plate. They noted that some of the Hindu Kush 

seismicity extends to depths as shallow as 60 km and might 

reach the surface near the Main Mantle Thrust or the Main 

Karakorum Thrust of the western Himalaya. 

They considered, but found wanting, analogous suggestions by other authors that the Pamirs seismicity reflects southward subduction of Asian continental crust. Instead, Pegler 

and Das suggested that the entire 700-km-long seismicity 

zone represents northward-subducted crust of the Indian plate, 

with the eastern part under the Pamirs having been rotated, the 

top to the north, about a horizontal axis. At depths shallower 

than 90 km, the eastern part was torn away northward from 

the adjacent western part beneath the Hindu Kush. Pegler and 

Das suggested that the greater northward movement of the 

shallower levels in the east could have been accommodated 

by right-lateral strike slip on the Karakorum fault, which 

strikes northwest across the eastern end of the Pamirs. They 

concluded that the intermediate-depth seismicity beneath the 

Pamirs reflects a single subducted slab that has been deformed 

by northward flow within the upper mantle under the Pamirs.

Pennington, W.D., 1979, A summary of field and seismic 

observations of the Pattan earthquake—28 December 1974, 

in Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of 

Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, 

p. 143–147.

Prevot, R., Hatzfeld, D., Roecker, S.W., and Molnar, P., 1980, 

Shallow earthquakes and active tectonics in eastern Afghanistan: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 85, no. B3, p. 

1347–1357.

Several microearthquake studies near Kabul, Afghanistan, showed clusters of earthquake epicenters near or along 

the traces of the Chaman and Sarubi faults. However, overall 

the epicenters are scattered and do not appear to concentrate 

near traces of known faults. Composite focal mechanisms 

from clusters of earthquakes near the faults had nodal planes 

parallel to the faults. Other composite mechanisms were constructed from earthquake clusters far from mapped faults. The 

mechanisms have a wide range of nodal plane orientations, but 

P-axes generally cluster near the north trend of the plate vector 

along which India converges with Eurasia. With the exception 

of the Chaman and Sarubi faults, most of the data appear to 

indicate diffuse deformation throughout a large crustal volume 

where several large faults intersect in map view. This suggestion is consistent with a later one of Lawrence and others 

(1992, p. 202).

Quittmeyer, R.C., Farah, Abul, and Jacob, K.H., 1979, The 

seismicity of Pakistan and its relation to surface faults, in

Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of 

Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, 

p. 271–284.

Quittmeyer, R.C., and Jacob, K.H., 1979, Historical and modern seismicity of Pakistan, Afghanistan, northwestern India, 

and southeastern Iran: Bulletin of the Seismological Society 

of America, v. 69, no. 3, p. 773–823.

Appendix 2. 23
This authoritative summary covers seismicity through 

1965. It cites papers interpreting the Herat and Chaman faults 

in Afghanistan as active surfaces along which crustal blocks 

are being extruded as India indents Eurasia. Particularly useful 

here are Appendixes 1 and 2, which contain summaries of 

reports of historical surface ruptures and other evidence indicating activity of individual Afghan faults.

Seismicity is low to moderate along and near the Chaman 

fault, but two large historical earthquakes have ruptured it. On 

July 5 or 6, 1505, slip associated with the Paghman earthquake 

ruptured approximately 60 km of the northern Chaman fault, 

with vertical displacements of several meters. Such large vertical movement on a mainly strike-slip fault led Quittmeyer and 

Jacob to suggest that a strike-slip component may have gone 

unreported. On December 20, 1892, slip that caused the Chaman earthquake offset railroad tracks by least 75 cm left-laterally; surface rupture extended at least 30 km along the central 

Chaman fault. (Note that field observations of Lawrence and 

others [1992] doubled this length estimate to 60 km.) Additionally, Quittmeyer and Jacob reported that interviews with 

local village elders indicated three surface ruptures before 

1892 during the lifetimes of the interviewees, with similar 

reports from the oral history that had been handed down to the 

interviewed elders from their ancestors. Quittmeyer and Jacob 

suggested that these repeated large ruptures and the long, 

continuous nature of the Chaman fault indicate that the fault 

accommodates “a significant portion of the motion between 

the Indian and Eurasian plates” (p. 802).

On February 19, 1842, the Alingar Valley earthquake 

occurred northeast of Kabul. The shock lacked a reported 

surface rupture, but “contemporary narratives indicate that 

rupture proceeded from the north-northeast to the south-southwest along a portion of the Gardez fault” (p. 791). (Note that 

Quittmeyer and Jacob used the name Gardez for a fault that 

extends from approximately 50 km east of Kabul to about 200 

km northeast of Kabul. In contrast, Everett and others (1986) 

and Lawrence and others (1992) applied the name to a longer, 

west-concave fault that lies farther southwest, east of and 

roughly parallel to the northern part of the Chaman fault. The 

fault named Gardez by Lawrence and others and Everett and 

others passes near Gardez, Afghanistan, whereas the southern 

end of the fault named Gardez by Quittmeyer and Jacob is 

100 km north-northeast of Gardez. Apparently Quittmeyer 

and Jacob misused the name Gardez.) Quittmeyer and Jacob 

also reported that teleseismic data indicate that the central part 

of the fault they labeled Gardez, including the part thought 

to have ruptured in 1842, is seismically active. They reported 

the same for the southern part of the Kunar fault, as well as 

unpublished microseismicity along this fault.

The authors considered the morphologically prominent 

Herat fault to be seismically inactive historically. They mentioned an earthquake near Herat in the ninth century and one 

in 1874 north of Kabul, both near the Herat fault and possibly 

associated with it. However, they concluded that “even for 

these events the evidence is not strong” (p. 803) for an association with the Herat fault.

Roecker, S.W., Soboleva, O.V., Nersesov, I.L., Lukk, A.A., 

Hatzfeld, D., Chatelain, J.L., and Molnar, P., 1980, Seismicity and fault plane solutions of intermediate depth earthquakes in the Pamir-Hindu Kush region: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 85, no. B3, p. 1358–1364.

This paper gives details of the focal mechanisms of Chatelain and others (1980).

Sarwar, Ghulam, and De Jong, K.A., 1979, Arcs, oroclines, 

syntaxes—The curvatures of mountain belts in Pakistan, 

in Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of 

Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, 

p. 341–349.

The authors described the strongly curved mountain 

ranges of northwestern Pakistan and adjacent parts of Afghanistan. They followed previous authors in concluding that the 

curved ranges are thin-skinned, south-verging, fold and thrust 

belts. This conclusion implies that the thin-skinned belts may 

be too thin to be involved in seismogenic basement faulting in 

their southern parts. However, if the thin-skinned belts thicken 

northward, then their faults might penetrate basement in their 

northern parts, in or near Afghanistan.

Sborshchikov, I.M., Savostin, L.A., and Zonenshayn, L.P., 

1981, Present plate tectonics between Turkey and Tibet: 

Tectonophysics, v. 79, no. 1-2, p. 45–73.

Grabens along the Hari Rud fault of central Afghanistan are filled with Neogene conglomerates, from which the 

authors inferred that strike slip on the fault began at least 

in the Early Miocene. Satellite photographs show 800 m of 

right-lateral offsets of streams “in the midstream of the Hari 

Rud river” (p. 58) at a location that is otherwise not identified. 

The authors mentioned in passing that “similar displacements, 

which can be attributed only to a dextral shift, were observed 

elsewhere” (p. 58); again, no location was specified. Their 

figure 5 shows much larger stream offsets across the Hari Rud 

fault, and p. 61 states that aerial and satellite photographs 

show the average offset to be approximately 5 km. The authors 

inferred that “the time of the shaping of the river system in 

this region is most likely the Upper Pliocene, i.e. about 2 m.y. 

before present ... and the velocity amounts thus to 0.2–0.3 cm 

yr-1” (p. 61). Accordingly, they regarded the Hari Rud fault 

as active despite its lack of significant seismicity. Similarly, 

their figure 5 also shows left-lateral stream offsets of several 

kilometers along the Mukur-Chaman fault at an unstated 

location. From the modern strike slip on the Hari Rud and 

Mukur-Chaman faults, the authors concluded that Afghanistan south of the Hari Rud fault is being extruded westward 

in response to collision farther east between the Indian and 

Eurasian plates.

Schindler, J.S., 2002, Afghanistan—Geology in a troubled 

land: Geotimes, v. 47, no. 2, p. 14–18.

The article contains brief summaries of Afghanistan’s 

geologic evolution, the level of knowledge of its geology and 

24 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
mineral resources, and geographic and human factors that 

impact efforts to build a nation. An inset map shows main 

faults, including the Chaman and Hari-Rod (also called Hari 

Rud and Herat) faults.

Schreiber, Alfred, Weippert, Dietrich, Wittekindt, H.-P., and 

Wolfart, Reinhard, 1972, Geology and Petroleum Potentials of Central and South Afghanistan: The American 

Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 56, no. 8, 

p. 1494–1519.

Numerous stratigraphic columns, detailed stratigraphic 

descriptions, and a page-sized summary of a 1970 geologic 

map of Afghanistan comprise a useful summary of Afghan 

geology. Fieldwork and analysis were performed by the 

Afghan Geological Survey and the West German Geological 

Survey from 1959 through 1971. Fault names and spellings 

accord with the Royal Afghan Cartographic Institute. However, the authors’ use of geosynclinal theory, which predates 

plate tectonics, makes the tectonic interpretations of Wittekindt and others (1997) more useful. Descriptions of Quaternary geology are too sparse to suggest which faults might be 

active today.

Seeber, Leonardo, and Armbruster, John, 1979, Seismicity 

of the Hazara arc in northern Pakistan —decollement vs. 

basement faulting, in Farah, Abul, and De Jong, K.A., eds., 

Geodynamics of Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological 

Survey of Pakistan, p. 131–142.

Sella, G.F., Dixon, T.H., and Mao, Ailin, 2002, REVEL – A 

model for Recent plate velocities from space geodesy: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 107, no. B4, p. 11-1–11-32.

The paper uses only seven years of space geodetic data 

to compute relative velocities between 19 plates and parts of 

continents. As an aside, p. 11–27 gives 48 mm/yr as the rate 

of the relative motion between India and Eurasia for a site 

that their figure 5 shows to be in southern India, as calculated 

from the NUVEL-1A model of DeMets and others (1994). 

The annotation for DeMets and others (1994) assesses the 

48 mm/yr result.

Sengor, A.M.C., 1984, The Cimmeride orogenic system and 

the tectonics of Eurasia: Geological Society of America 

Special Paper 195, 82 p.

This massive summary of the Cimmeride orogeny 

integrates field observations and literature on geology and its 

development from Gibraltar to Malaysia and the Pacific coast 

of Russia. An ocean named Tethys lay between Laurasia and 

Gondwana during and before the early and middle Mesozoic 

Era. Beginning in the Triassic Period, and in some places 

earlier, continental fragments rifted from Gondwana and drifted 

north toward Laurasia. North of the drifting fragments lay 

the original Tethys, or Paleo-Tethys. South of the fragments 

lay Neo-Tethys. The effect of the north-drifting continental 

fragments was to subduct Paleo-Tethys as Neo-Tethys grew. 

As Paleo-Tethys finally closed at the south edge of what is 

now northern Afghanistan, some of the continental fragments 

accreted to form what is now central and southern Afghanistan.

Shareq, Abdullah, 1981, Geological and geophysical investigations carried out in Afghanistan over the period 1972–

1979, in Gupta, H.K., and Delany, F.M., eds., Zagros, Hindu 

Kush, Himalaya—Geodynamic evolution: American Geophysical Union Geodynamics Series 3, p. 75–86, 1 folded 

plate, scale 1:2,500,000.

The paper summarized Russian and Afghan geologic 

and tectonic maps of Afghanistan, and stratigraphy, magmatism, tectonics, geophysical surveys of parts of the country, 

and seismicity. Shareq reported that results of fieldwork up to 

1972 were compiled into 1:1,000,000-scale geologic, tectonic, 

and magmatic maps of Afghanistan for the 24th International 

Geological Congress in Montreal (presumably these are the 

maps of Chmyriov and Mirzad [1971, 1972]). Subsequent data 

yielded a 1977 1:500,000-scale geologic map of Afghanistan 

(presumably this is the map of Shareq and Chmyriov [1977]). 

The sections of the paper on stratigraphy, igneous rocks, and 

tectonics are largely descriptive, with tectonic interpretations 

that use geosynclinal concepts from before the advent of plate 

tectonics. Radiometric dates from igneous rocks are generalized and of unspecified type.

The descriptions can be read in terms of successive 

southeastward accretions of exotic terranes to the Turan (North 

Afghan) platform. Basement of the platform comprises Hercynian (Variscan: Carboniferous and Permian) metamorphic, 

volcanic, and sedimentary rocks that are exposed only in deep 

valleys, cores of anticlines, and in northeastern Afghanistan. 

The platform is bounded on the south and east by the most 

structurally complex rocks in the country. These complex 

rocks form a belt that trends east across most of Afghanistan 

to the vicinity of Kabul, and is bounded by the Hari Rod fault 

on the north and the Karganaw fault on the south. Near Kabul, 

the belt bends northeastward and northward, and is bounded 

on the southeast and east by the Central Badakhshan fault. The 

author asserted that microseismic studies showed the AlburzMarmul, Central Badakhshan, Pansjer, Pagman, Kunar, and 

Chaman faults to be seismically active, and that hypocenters 

northwest of the trace of the Pansher fault show it to dip 

northwest. However, no evidence or figures were provided to 

support these assertions. A folded plate bears a 1:2,500,000-

scale tectonic map of Afghanistan that is dated 1975. One 

smaller-scale index map on the plate shows tectonic provinces 

and a second shows names of major faults and the tectonic 

blocks between them. The plate refers to the east-trending 

belt of structurally complex rocks as the Middle Afghanistan 

geosuture zone.

Note that distances labeled on the rake scale of the 

tectonic map are too small by a factor of 10. Note also that the 

reference list showed the author’s name as “Abdullah, Sh.”, 

indicating that his family name is Abdullah. Some Georef 

citations list him as Abdullah Shareq but other citations list 

Shareq Abdullah. Inquiries at the University of Nebraska’s 

Appendix 2. 25
Center for Afghanistan Studies verified that the author’s given 

name is Abdullah and his family name is Shareq.

Shareq, Abdullah, 1992, Major active faults in Afghanistan, 

in Section I-2-09, Evaluation of active faults and seismic 

hazards: International Geological Congress, 29th, Kyoto, 

1992 [Abstracts], p. 77.

Most of this summary is in Shareq (1993), but this 

abstract also named the geologic features that are separated by 

each of the Alburz-Marmul, Khohan-Ishkamish, Kunar, and 

Chaman-Muqur faults. Additionally, the use of seismicity to 

identify each of the faults as active was described more clearly 

and specifically than in Shareq (1993), although still so briefly 

that it is difficult to assess the statements that individual faults 

are seismically active.

Shareq, Abdullah, 1993, Seismic hazard in the Islamic State 

of Afghanistan, in McGuire, R.K., ed., The practice of 

earthquake hazard assessment: International Association of 

Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior, p. 1–6.

The short paper concentrated on seismicity and construction of a hazard map. Figures showed page-sized maps 

of seismicity, major faults with their names, and “seismic 

danger zones”. Faults were distinguished by whether they 

are “certain” or “supposed” and by the geological Periods of 

their origins and of their main movements. The danger zones 

were characterized by high, medium, or weak frequencies of 

earthquakes of specified magnitudes, maximum intensities, 

and focal depths. The text listed as active or briefly described 

the activity of 13 named faults. The fault map showed 11 of 

them as well as 3 others, for a total of 16 named active faults. 

Clusters of epicenters were assigned to individual known 

faults without explanation.

Maximum magnitudes were estimated for individual 

faults from historical seismicity and unspecified geological 

information. In seismically active northeastern Afghanistan, 

“the Khohan-Ishkamish fault is one of the most important seismogenic structures in Afghanistan” (p. 2). This is the Darvaz 

fault of Trifonov (1978) (Appendix 1). Shareq estimated that 

earthquakes as large as surface-wave magnitude Ms 7.5–8 

occur along this fault approximately once per 1,000 years. The 

Central Badakshan fault has the same estimated maximum 

magnitude, occurring at much longer estimated intervals of 

about 50,000 years. The Kunar fault “is also notable for its 

high seismic activity” (p. 2), up to an estimated maximum 

body-wave magnitude of mb 7.5. Felt crustal earthquakes were 

estimated to occur most frequently along the Alburz-Marmul fault. In less active central and western Afghanistan, the 

Harirod (Herat) fault has an estimated maximum magnitude of 

mb 6. In southeastern Afghanistan, the Chaman Muqur fault 

has associated seismicity higher than that of the Harirod fault, 

but lower than the northeastern faults, and an estimated maximum magnitude of mb 7. See also Shareq (1992).

Note that the reference list showed the author’s name as 

“Abdullah, Sh.”, indicating that his family name is Abdullah. 

Some Georef citations list him as Abdullah Shareq but other 

citations list Shareq Abdullah. Inquiries at the University 

of Nebraska’s Center for Afghanistan Studies verified that 

the author’s given name is Abdullah and his family name is 

Shareq.

Shareq, Abdullah, and Chmyriov, V.M., editors-in-chief, 

1977, Map of mineral resources of Afghanistan: Ministry 

of Mines and Industries of the Democratic Republic of 

Afghanistan, Department of Geological and Mineral Survey, 

scale 1:500,000.

The map consists of a geologic map with superimposed 

symbols showing locations of mineral deposits and resources. 

It is uncertain whether the map was published as a single large 

sheet, in a few smaller sheets, or as a folio of many separate quadrangles. The map was digitized and scanned by the 

Russians in 2004 with USGS funding. USGS received only 

the digital files, not the paper map. The citation above was 

extracted from a scanned image of the title page or title block 

of the map. Details in the files suggested to R.R. Wahl (oral 

commun., February 10, 2005) that the digitized materials may 

have been compilation maps at a scale smaller than 1:500,000. 

Note that the list of editors in chief, the list of compilers, and 

the list of contributors all show the senior editor’s name as “Sh. 

Abdullah”, indicating that his family name is Abdullah. Some 

Georef citations list him as Shareq Abdullah but other citations 

list Abdullah Shareq. Inquiries at the University of Nebraska’s 

Center for Afghanistan Studies verified that the author’s given 

name is Abdullah and his family name is Shareq.

Tapponnier, P., Mattauer, M., Proust, F., and Cassaigneau, C., 

1981, Mesozoic ophiolites, sutures, and large-scale tectonic 

movements in Afghanistan: Earth and Planetary Science 

Letters, v. 52, p. 355–371.

Afghanistan is largely the result of successive suturing 

of Gondwanan fragments to the active southern margin of 

Laurasia since the Paleozoic, ending with the arrival of India. 

Fragments accreted successively southward along as many as 

four sutures from the Early Jurassic through the Late Paleocene. Most, perhaps all, of the sutures originally dipped north. 

Subsequent strike-slip and perhaps north-south shortening 

produced steep to vertical dips and obscured the original dips 

and dip directions of at least the northern sutures. Ophiolites 

were obducted southward, at least in the southern sutures, as 

north-dipping subduction zones were choked with continental 

crust. Today, east of the Chaman fault, several units are being 

thrust southward onto the subducting Indian plate as it chokes 

the final suture.

The Chaman fault itself has undergone several hundred 

kilometers of Tertiary left-lateral strike slip. “Studies of Quaternary morphology yield a displacement rate of 1–2 cm/yr 

along the master fault during the last 100,000 years .... Since 

the beginning of the Quaternary, the average rate across the 

whole fault zone could have been higher (2.5–3.5 cm/yr) ...” 

(p. 358); the only citation given for these two statements is a 

5-page paper in French.

26 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Between the Chaman and Herat faults, numerous other 

faults dip steeply and strike northeasterly. The Herat fault 

marks the northernmost suture and, farther south, the Panjao 

suture divides central Afghanistan into the Farah block on the 

north and the Helmand block on the south. Tertiary tectonics 

within and between these blocks were largely strike-slip faulting. The linearity of the Herat fault over hundreds of kilometers, horizontal slickensides in Cretaceous and Eocene strata, 

and narrow basins containing continental sediments of Oligocene and Miocene age demonstrate right-lateral strike slip. 

However, “although the fault zone is still sharply expressed in 

the Quaternary morphology, it may no longer be active since 

post-Miocene deposits are not clearly offset along it” (p. 359); 

the main support for this conclusion is a citation of a French 

paper. Additionally, on p. 364 the authors observed that “the 

Herat fault trace, although clear on Landsat photos, is not as 

sharp as that of active faults such as the Chaman ....”

North of the Herat fault, the Asian or Turan platform 

was deformed only mildly during the Tertiary. The platform 

basement was formed during the Hercynian (Carboniferous-Permian) orogeny; whereas, there is no evidence of this 

orogeny south of the Herat fault. The platform cover consists 

of possible Triassic basalts, Jurassic evaporates, Cretaceous/

Paleocene shallow-marine limestones, and Tertiary continental 

deposits that, together, reach thicknesses of 10 km in some 

platform basins.

The authors inferred that the northwest corner of the 

Indian plate indented Eurasia, raising the Pamirs and thrusting 

them northward, and extruding central Afghanistan southwestward since the Eocene by strike slip along the Herat, Panjao, 

and Chaman-Panjshir faults. They suggested that the main 

extrusion culminated during the Oligocene and ended during 

the Miocene. However, they allowed that some minor extrusion might continue today on the west-striking Andarab fault 

that parallels the Herat fault farther north within the Turan 

platform (see also Treloar and Izatt, 1993).

Tirrul, R., Bell, I.R., Griffis, R.J., and Camp, V.E., 1983, The 

Sistan suture zone of eastern Iran: Geological Society of 

America Bulletin, v. 94, no. 1, p. 134–150.

Treloar, P.J., and Izatt, C.N., 1993, Tectonics of the Himalayan collision between the Indian Plate and the Afghan 

Block—A synthesis, in Treloar, P.J., and Searle, M.P., eds., 

Himalayan tectonics: Geological Society Special Publications, v. 74, p. 69–87.

The paper is an excellent summary of its topic and suggests answers to questions that remain open. Crust north and 

west of the Herat and Central Badakhstan faults has been part 

of the Eurasian plate (Tadzhik platform) since Late Paleozoic 

time. Crustal fragments south and east of the two faults and 

north and west of the Chaman and Konar faults rifted away 

from Gondwanaland before India did, and accreted to the 

Tadzhik platform during the Cimmerian orogeny (TriassicJurassic) before India did. The accreting terranes were added 

successively southward. “Permo-Triassic subduction related 

granitoids” (p. 71) in the southernmost part of the Tadzhik 

platform may indicate that at least the first subduction zone 

dipped northerly. Today the Herat fault forms the northern 

edge of the outcrop of this northernmost subduction zone.

After Cimmeride accretion, a Mesozoic shelf sequence 

was deposited atop the accreted terranes. The authors referred 

to this basement of Cimmeride accreted terranes and its 

sedimentary cover as the Afghan block, which is therefore 

bounded on the southeast by the Chaman and Konar faults. 

Both basement and cover were later deformed and intruded 

as results of the Indian collision and related subduction of 

Tethyan oceanic crust; thus, these subduction zones also 

dipped north. By Oligocene and Miocene time, the widespread 

Mesozoic platform sedimentation had given way to localized 

basins that received red molasses on both the Tadzhik platform 

and the Afghan block. The authors attributed this change in 

sedimentary regime to regional uplift caused by the start of the 

Himalayan collision of India with Asia.

During Oligocene-Miocene time the Herat fault was 

reactivated. Pull-apart basins with Oligocene-Miocene fills, 

Oligocene alkaline volcanic rocks, and left-lateral offsets demonstrate a transtensional setting for this reactivation. “Most 

of the internal block boundaries, including Cimmeride suture 

zones, within the Afghan Block have been reactivated during 

the Tertiary as fault zones with strike-slip displacement senses 

...” (p. 73). The authors repeated the conclusion of Tapponnier and others (1981) that a lack of clear offsets of deposits 

younger than Miocene along the Herat fault indicates postMiocene inactivity. In contrast, they noted surface ruptures and 

geomorphic evidence that demonstrate present-day activity of 

the Chaman fault and suggest the same for the Andarab, Tirin, 

and Central Badakhstan faults (see also Wellman [1965], Trifonov [1978], Quittmeyer and Jacob [1979], Yeats and others 

[1979], and Lawrence and others [1992]).

The Afghan block was subsequently further deformed 

during the Himalayan collision, as evidenced by folded and 

reverse-faulted Paleogene and Neogene(?) rocks. The authors 

and Brookfield and Hashmat (2001) presented four cross 

sections across the eastern Herat fault. The sections show 

reverse faults, most of which dip south. Additionally, figure 

69 of Wolfart and Wittekindt (1980) shows three additional 

cross sections across the Herat fault and all three show solely 

south-dipping reverse faults. In contrast, recall that most or all 

subduction zones are inferred to have dipped north originally. 

An unstated implication of this difference is that, depending 

on the intensity of the Himalayan deformation, modern dip of 

faults at the outcrop may not reflect either modern or original 

dip of a crustal-scale suture.

After detailed descriptions of field relations in eastern 

Afghanistan and southwestern Pakistan, Treloar and Izatt 

concluded that India’s collision with the Afghan block, closure 

of the Katawaz basin that formed either on oceanic crust or 

on the western edge of the Indian plate, and inception of the 

Chaman fault in left-lateral strike slip all occurred during the 

Pliocene Epoch. From this, and from the apparent lack of 

significant post-Miocene slip on the Herat fault, the authors 

Appendix 2. 27
concluded that the Chaman and Herat faults were never active 

at the same time and cannot have combined to extrude the 

Afghan block southwestward in response to the Indian indentation into Asia. They noted that minor extrusion might have 

occurred on the presently active Andarab and Talemazar faults 

north of the Herat fault within the Tadzhik platform (see also 

Tapponnier and others, 1981).

Trifonov, V.G., 1978, Late Quaternary tectonic movements of 

western and central Asia: Geological Society of America 

Bulletin, v. 89, p. 1059–1072.

Interpretations of satellite imagery, aerial photographs, 

and field observations identify and characterize late Pleistocene and Holocene surface ruptures throughout a vast region 

from Turkey to east of Lake Baikal. The faulting is driven by 

northerly subduction of the Arabian and Indian plates beneath 

the Eurasian plate. Between converging plates, shortening produces reverse and conjugate strike-slip faulting. Between the 

Arabian and Indian plates, north-striking continental transform 

faults accommodate differential northward movement. Additionally, convergence of both subducting plates against Eurasia 

extrudes slices of continental crust along wrench faults.

The author reported young offsets for many individual 

faults. Where offsets have been measured and ages of offset 

surfaces or landforms have been estimated, slip rates could be 

calculated for hazard computation. However, such rates would 

be highly uncertain because surfaces are poorly dated. For 

example, the paper neither gives nor cites numerical definitions of the time terms used in the following paragraph. Nearly 

two decades later, Ioffe and Kozhurin (1996) stated that the 

Middle Pleistocene extended from 0.7 Ma to 0.1 Ma, but is 

unclear whether Trifonov (1978) used these dates.

Trifonov summarized offsets and ages for several Afghan 

faults. The northeast-striking part of the Darvaz fault underwent 60–95 m of strike slip with minor reverse slip during the 

late Holocene, 150–160 m during the Holocene, 300–350 m 

during the end of the late Pleistocene and the Holocene, 800 

m during the entire late Pleistocene and Holocene, and 1200 

m since the end of the middle Pleistocene. The north-striking 

part of the Darvaz fault underwent up to 20 m of strike slip 

during the late Holocene, up to 120 m during most or all of the 

Holocene with rare displacements as large as 140–150 m, and 

300 m during the entire late Pleistocene and Holocene. Offset 

surfaces on the Chaman and Darafshan faults are undated. 

Holocene offsets on the east-striking Herat fault, and on the 

parallel Talemazar fault to the north, were reported by Wellman (1965) but disputed by Molnar in a personal communication that Trifonov cited on p. 1069.

Trifonov, V.G., 1999, Neotectonics of Eurasia: Moscow, 

Russia, Nauchnyi Mir (Scientific World) Press, 252 p. (in 

Russian with 17 p. English summary, and abstract, table of 

contents and figure captions in both English and Russian).

The book deals largely with neotectonics, regional 

deformation, and tectonic and plate-tectonic models instead 

of Holocene or Quaternary slip rates of individual faults. 

There are no tables. Several well-studied faults are used to 

illustrate classes and subclasses of fault behaviors, but none 

are in Afghanistan. Trifonov noted that the transform boundary between eastern Afghanistan and the Indian plate is the 

Chaman fault in southeastern Afghanistan and the Darvaz-Alai 

fault farther north in Tajikistan (p. 211 and fig. 9).

Several sentences scattered through section 1.2 on the 

Pamir-Himalayan Region contain statements about offsets of 

features of known age, or actual slip rates. G. Ulmishek of the 

USGS was kind enough to translate these sentences verbally. 

The following page numbers and paragraph counts refer to 

the Russian original. A paragraph that overlaps from the 

previous page onto the page in question is counted as the first 

paragraph. Quotations in the following paragraphs distinguish 

translated material from the longer annotations. Some short 

annotations are within the quotes but identified by parentheses 

and question marks.

Page 33, para. 4: “In the northeastern part of the Darvaz 

fault, slip is 10–15 mm/yr.” A similar statement appears in Trifonov (1978, p. 1066). Note that the Darvaz fault is mainly in 

Tajikistan, but it extends south into northeastern Afghanistan. 

In Afghanistan the fault strikes north and is right-lateral strike 

slip, but in Tajikistan it curves toward eastern strikes and a 

reverse component dominates. According to Trifonov (1978), 

this slip rate was measured on the reverse-fault section of the 

fault. However, it also may indicate rapid slip on the strike-slip 

section that extends into Afghanistan.

Page 40, para. 6 – p. 41, para. 3: “The east part of the 

Surkhob-Ilyak zone between the villages of Tajikabad and 

Garm is right-lateral strike slip with reverse faults and thrusts. 

One of them, tilted to the south at a dip of 40°–45° near the 

mouth of the Runou river, offsets an early Holocene terrace 

by 15 m. Multi-year geodetic observations show systematic, 

although amplitude-varying, uplift of the south limb (hanging wall?) at 15 mm/yr, and also the limbs (hanging and 

footwalls?) become closer (move together?) at 20 mm/yr.” 

Tajikabad and Garm are along the Surkhob River in Tajikistan 

and approximately 80 km north of the Afghan border.

“Repeated observations-with-light (laser ranging?) 

measurements on a large base (large distance, large number 

of measurements?) found shifting of an observed point in the 

northeastern part of Vakhsh ridge to the southwest at 20 mm/

yr, which means longitudinal lengthening and squeezing to 

the southwest of the External Zone relative to both the North 

Pamir and Darvaz, on the one hand, and the South Tien Shan, 

on the other hand. ...” Vakhsh is in Tajikistan approximately 

50 km north of the Afghan border.

“In the southwest part of the Surkhob-Ilyak zone near 

the mouth of the Obigarm River the velocity of geodetically 

measured thrusting is 10 mm/yr. In the same area, deformation of relief and young sediments indicate late Quaternary 

thrusting, and in one of the branches of the zone, right-lateral 

strike slip up to 10 m. South of the town of Fayzabad the 

fault is not exposed, but correlation of wells indicates vertical offset of the base of upper Pleistocene sediments by 200 

m. Farther southwest at Zaredolyu Pass and near the town of 

28 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
Yavan, a right-lateral component of faulting much larger than 

the vertical component is clearly indicated by deformation of 

topography. The velocity of late Quaternary strike slip is 1.5–3 

mm/yr.” The town of Obigarm is in Tajikistan approximately 

150 km north of the Afghan border. Fayzabad is in northeastern Afghanistan at approximately 36.1°N., 70.6°E.

Page 42, para. 3, last sentence: “GPS data indicate that 

the present-day shortening of the Tien Shan, both West and 

East (parts?), is 20 mm/yr.” The Tien Shan range is in Kyrgyzstan and western China, far north of Afghanistan.

Trifonov, V.G., 2000, Using active faults for estimating seismic hazard: Journal of Earthquake Prediction Research, 

v. 8, p. 157–174.

The author summarized the organization of the easternhemisphere part of the database for the World Map of Active 

Faults. A page-sized version of the map is too generalized to 

tell much about Afghanistan. He described methods for using 

the data to assess seismic hazard and difficulties encountered, 

for example different slip rates obtained from GPS, ground 

geodesy, and geology. He used the North Anatolian fault zone 

to illustrate application of the results.

Trifonov, V.G., 2004, Active faults in Eurasia – General 

remarks: Tectonophysics, v. 380, p. 123–130.

This short paper described the project and contributors 

that produced the eastern-hemisphere half of a World Map of 

Active Faults. The paper contains a page-sized, enormously 

simplified map of active faults of Eurasia and most of Africa, 

and suggests a few generalizations about active faults. One 

passing statement about paleoseismology was shown to be 

wrong many years ago. No information is given about individual faults, and the map is too generalized for use in such 

Fa small region as Afghanistan. See also Ioffe and Kozhurin 

(1996).

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia 

and the Pacific, 1995, Geology and mineral resources of 

Afghanistan, Atlas of Mineral Resources of the ESCAP 

Region, v. 11: New York, United Nations, 85 p., 4 maps, 

scales 1:2,000,000, 1:2,500,000.

About one sixth of the volume summarizes the geology 

of Afghanistan, and the rest is devoted to mineral resources. 

The volume is based on information from the Department of 

Geology and Mineral Exploration of the Ministry of Mines 

and Industry of Afghanistan. Most data were compiled from 

findings made by Soviet and Afghan geoscientists during the 

1960s–1980s. The tectonic map (scale 1:2,000,000) is a reproduction of a 1:2,500,000 map prepared in 1972 by Afghan and 

Soviet geologists. The tectonic map contains a small inset map 

that identifies and names areas of Paleozoic and Mesozoic 

deformation, as well as eight Neogene-Quaternary downwarps 

and basins and 18 major faults. All the named faults and 

Neogene-Quaternary downwarps and basins are shown on the 

large map, together with numerous smaller faults and young 

downwarps and basins. Faults are coded as large (“largest 

failures by rupture”), small, inferred (“supposed”), reverse, 

strike-slip, normal (“downthrust”), and buried beneath young 

deposits, but not according to whether or not they are considered to be active. However, inactivity can be hypothesized 

for faults that are buried by Neogene-Quaternary deposits 

(western part of Hari Rod fault; southwestern Kodar fault) or 

inferred beneath them (Spinghar fault; short section of Caman 

fault; Kaj Rod fault). Activity can be hypothesized where Neogene-Quaternary deposits fill faulted or unfaulted troughs that 

parallel a large fault on one side (Mokur fault and its northeast 

continuation, the Pagman fault; Hari Rod fault). 

Walker, Richard, and Jackson, James, 2002, Offset and evolution of the Gowk Fault, S.E. Iran—A major intra-continental strike-slip system: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 24, 

no. 11, p. 1677–1698.

Wellman, H.W., 1965, Active wrench faults of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Geologische Rundschau, v. 55, no. 3, p. 

716–735.

Wellman used a sabbatical leave from his New Zealand 

university to visit the Geological Surveys of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, and Bonn University. He examined air-photo 

mosaics for displaced topography as indications of active faulting and compiled the results on a 1:1,000,000-scale base. The 

scales of the mosaics were 1:100,000 to 1:500,000. His paper 

contains only a page-sized map of the interpreted faults, of 

which he named nine faults along which he found interpreted 

indicators of strike slip at 26 localities. Eight small sketch maps 

that Wellman traced from air photos of individual localities 

and text descriptions provide details. A table lists the localities, 

with latitudes and longitudes to the nearest minute; fault strike 

at each locality, slip sense, and fault name; and type of geomorphic indicator of offset, with a qualitative estimate of the reliability of the indicator and estimated offsets that range from 25 

to 1,100 m. Two offsets of 1 m and 10 cm during earthquakes 

came from cited reports of direct observations.

Wellman suggested that, in moderately steep terrain, 

probably evidence of offsets older than roughly 20,000 years 

will have been obliterated by erosion. He noted that the main 

active faults cut all materials except alluvium in modern rivers. 

Of the nine named faults, Wellman stated (p. 724) that only the 

Kuhbanan fault in Iran had previously been named although 

some others appeared on published maps. He named the other 

eight faults after nearby villages or towns, including the Herat 

fault. Four of the nine faults are in Afghanistan, and 10 of the 

26 faulted localities are along them. Wellman traced the Herat 

fault for 1100 km almost entirely across northern Afghanistan. 

Two groups of displaced and trailing streams indicated rightlateral strike-slip on the fault, 200 km northeast of Kabul and 

500 km west of Kabul. Wellman estimated that the streams 

may be no more than 10,000 years old. The east-striking 

Talemazar fault parallels the Herat fault but is approximately 

80 km farther north. Wellman traced the Talemazar fault for 

200 km and suggested that it extends another 100 km farther 

Appendix 2. 29
east. Trailing streams at one locality and offsets in seven small 

ridges at a second locality indicate right-lateral strike-slip. 

Wellman interpreted the ridges as post-glacial features.

Wellman traced the Chaman fault south for 800 km from 

its north end near the Herat fault. Trailing and offset streams 

at seven localities and a 1 m offset of a railway line during an 

1892 earthquake demonstrate left-lateral slip. From geologic 

maps Wellman estimated total offset on the Chaman fault 

of “about 500 km” (p. 726). From topographic disturbances 

similar to those along the San Andreas and Alpine faults, he 

estimated a slip rate of 2–20 mm/yr. Both estimates are strikingly similar to the modern values of Lawrence and others 

(1992). West of the Chaman fault, six offset streams at a 

single locality suggest left-lateral slip on the northeast-striking 

Darafshan fault. Wellman traced the Darafshan fault for 300 

km. (Several authors cited this paper as published in 1966. It 

is bound in the 1965 volume and listed in its table of contents, 

and the volume’s title page and table of contents state the 

volume number as 55 and the year as 1965.)

Wittekindt, H.-P., Wolfart, Reinhard, and Moores, E.M., 1997, 

Afghanistan, in Moores, E.M., and Fairbridge, R.W., eds., 

Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology: 

London, Chapman and Hall, p. 1–7.

The first two authors were part of a West German 

Geological Survey team that collaborated with the Afghan 

Geological Survey from 1959 through 1971 to produce a 

geologic map of Afghanistan (Schreiber and others, 1972). 

This short paper provides a modern summary of the geography, geomorphology, stratigraphy, plate-tectonic evolution, 

and mineral resources of the country. One map names places, 

regions, mountain ranges, and rivers; a second map names 

crustal blocks, suture zones, and main faults. Afghan tectonic 

evolution was dominated by the collision of Laurasia (Eurasia) with Gondwana (Arabia and India). The early Mesozoic 

continental margin of Laurasia and the adjacent suture are now 

represented by the Herat and Central Badakshan faults and 

associated rocks. Between these two faults on the north and 

the Chaman and Konar faults on the east lie diverse blocks of 

Gondwanan continental crust and parts of island arcs. These 

terranes were amalgamated before their collision with Eurasia 

by mid-Cretaceous time. Additional blocks were added east 

of the Chaman and Konar faults, and by Pliocene or Pleistocene time no ocean remained between India and what is now 

Afghanistan. Today, Afghan faulting is dominated by strike 

slip (for example, the Chaman fault). Some presently active 

faults were originally sutures, and some faults were active in 

the Tertiary but lack clear evidence of modern activity (for 

example, the Herat fault).

Wolfart, Reinhard, and Wittekindt, Hanspeter, 1980, Geologie 

von Afghanistan: Berlin and Stuttgart, Federal Republic of 

Germany, Gebrueder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, 

500 p., 3 folded maps, scale 1:4,000,000 (in German with 

14 p. English Summary).

The English summary consists of stratigraphic and 

structural descriptions and tectonic interpretations that were 

expressed in geosynclinal theory with few mentions of plate 

tectonics. Accordingly, the summary emphasizes disconnected 

vertical motions that, while important in determining sedimentary lithologies, were dwarfed by the horizontal plate motions 

that drove the system and whose recognition is necessary to 

make sense of the vertical motions. The first two sections of the 

summary deal with general geology and stratigraphic descriptions that, together, comprise the largest part of the summary. 

Both sections consist of sentences and paragraphs whose topics 

seem disjointed and isolated from each other. The lack of linkage to horizontal plate movements makes the inferred paleogeographies and paleoclimates suspect. A few descriptions can 

be read in terms of subduction zones. The following section on 

structural styles and deformation ages in the various parts of 

Afghanistan is more descriptive and clearer. A page and a half 

on plate tectonics makes more sense to the present-day reader, 

but is still obscured somewhat by an awkward integration 

with geosynclinal terminology. This section may be easier to 

understand after one has read Treloar and Izatt (1993) and Tapponnier and others (1981). Two short concluding sections deal 

with mineral resources and hydrology. According to the table 

of contents (in German), the main German text has the same 

organization as the English summary, with most of the main 

text (303 pages) being devoted to rock descriptions that are 

organized by geologic age. Because of the length of the main 

text, translations of its stratigraphic and lithologic descriptions 

could be valuable to geologic mappers.

Yeats, R.S., Lawrence, R.D., Jamil-Ud-Din, Syed, and Khan, 

S.H., 1979, Surface effects of the 16 March 1978 earthquake, Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Farah, Abul, and De 

Jong, K.A., eds., Geodynamics of Pakistan: Quetta, Pakistan, Geological Survey of Pakistan, p. 359–361.

There was no surface rupture from the body-wave magnitude mb 5.2 earthquake; the authors attributed a linear crack 

on a shallowly-sloping hillside to slope failure. The epicenter 

was approximately 25 km east of the trace of the Chaman fault. 

The paper describes moderate damage in the town of Nushki, 

roughly 70 km south-southeast of the epicenter. The paper 

describes the trace of the Chaman fault at and near Nushki as 

four en echelon, left-stepping sections whose lengths total at 

least 7 km. The sections cut deformed older fanglomerate that 

is folded to dip as steeply as 70°, as well as a younger fanglomerate that overlays the older one unconformably. The fault trace 

does not cut the modern alluvial gravels in the bed of the Kaiser Rud and its tributaries. The authors did not know the ages 

of the fanglomerates but presumed that they are at least partly 

Quaternary in age. If their presumption is correct, then this 

part of the Chaman fault has produced at least 7 km of surface 

rupture during the Quaternary.

Yeats, R.S., and Madden, Christopher, 2003, Damage from the 

Nahrin, Afghanistan, earthquake of 25 March 2002: Seismological Research Letters, v. 74, no. 3, p. 305–311.

30 Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan, with Annotated Bibliography
The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 6.1, occurred 

at shallow depth in northeastern Afghanistan, and produced 

no surface rupture, liquefaction, or other geologic effects that 

would be recognizable in the future or in the young geologi-

cal record. The authors recognized no neotectonic landforms. 

They concluded that the long-term slip rate on the nearby, lin-

ear, range-front fault is low. Nonetheless, maximum Modified 

Mercalli intensity was VII and an estimated 1,200 people died. 

The main cause of building collapse and life loss was wide-

spread construction with mud bricks that had been mortared 

with mud. These materials are heavy, and such construction 

lacks reinforcement or other features that might withstand 

strong ground motion. These effects and observations dem-

onstrate that moderate earthquakes can strike in Afghan areas 

that lack recognized geomorphic evidence of hazard. Such 

earthquakes can have far more severe consequences than they 

might in developed nations because of the nature of local 

construction practices.

Appendix 2. 31