Paleoseismic dislocations in the Klichka thrust zone, southeastern Transbaikalia

Abstract

The results of the field seismogeological studies in the Klichka thrust zone, southeastern Transbaikalia, are considered in this paper. This territory in the contemporary epicentral field is characterized by weak earthquakes that do not reflect the true seismic potential. The seismotectonic dislocations, corresponding in their parameters to fault-forming earthquakes with magnitude of 6.0–7.2, are revealed in the southwestern flank of the Klichka thrust. Radiocarbon dating of the paleoevents and historical-archaeological data indicate that the age of the oldest events registered during the field works is 9300 years ago (M = 7.2). An earthquake with M ≈ 6.5 occurred 7000 years later, sometime in the 1st to 11th centuries. The third paleoearthquake with M ≈ 6.0 occurred in the 12th to 18th centuries.