Chapter 17 - Tectonic Segmentation of the Dead Sea Fault System: A Review of Geophysical Evidence

Abstract

The Dead Sea fault is a left-lateral strike-slip plate boundary and the most conspicuous tectonic feature in the Middle East. Most studies have focused on the individual pull-apart basins that formed within in the deep fault valley or on the development of motion along its length. The present study examines a wealth of geophysical data from the late 1970s to the present in order to summarize the state of knowledge of the fault as a system. The compilation presented here shows that the fault is not continuous. Although it is highly segmented, there are three main segments dictated by two different tectonic mechanisms (change in fault direction and interaction with a divergent fault segment). In addition, aside from the three major pull-apart basins (the Gulf of Elat, Dead Sea, and Sea of Galilee), the entire fault valley is underlain by many smaller subbasins. These features should be taken into consideration for future numerical and analog models.