North Anatolian Fault

The North Anatolian Fault is a major right-lateral strike-slip fault crossing northern Turkey. It accommodates westward motion of the Anatolian Plate relative to Eurasia.

Anatolian Plate: A small tectonic plate whose westward motion is bounded by the Eurasian, Arabian, and African plates. Its westward escape relative to Eurasia is accommodated along the fault.
1939 Erzincan earthquake: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck eastern Turkey on 27 December 1939. Its rupture began a sequence of westward-propagating earthquakes along the fault.
North Anatolian Fault Zone: The broad zone of active faults and deformation associated with the North Anatolian Fault. The main fault belongs to a wider, structurally complex zone.
Sea of Marmara: An inland sea in northwestern Turkey connecting the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. A major section of the fault passes beneath or near this densely populated region.
Right-lateral strike-slip fault: A fault on which the opposite side moves horizontally to the right when viewed across the fault. This motion describes the North Anatolian Fault’s principal displacement.
1999 İzmit earthquake: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on 17 August 1999. Its rupture broke a major western section near the Sea of Marmara.
Eurasian Plate: A tectonic plate comprising most of Europe and much of Asia. The Anatolian Plate moves westward relative to this northern neighbor.
Istanbul: Turkey’s largest city, located beside the Sea of Marmara near the North Anatolian Fault. Its proximity makes fault rupture and strong shaking major hazards.
Fault segmentation: The division of a fault system into sections separated by bends, stepovers, or structural barriers. Its sections can rupture separately or link during large earthquakes.
1999 Düzce earthquake: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on 12 November 1999. It ruptured a neighboring section shortly after the İzmit earthquake.

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