| Boconó Fault | |
|---|---|
| Falla Boconó | |
  Location of the fault in Venezuela | |
| Etymology | Boconó, Trujillo |
| Location | Northern South America |
| Coordinates | 9°15′N 70°16′W / 9.250°N 70.267°W / 9.250; -70.267 |
| Country |  Colombia Venezuela |
| Region | Andean |
| State | Norte de Santander, Santander Mérida, Táchira |
| Cities | Cúcuta |
| Characteristics | |
| Range | Mérida Andes, Eastern Ranges |
| Part of | Boconó-San Sebastián-El Pilar Fault System |
| Length | 500 km (310 mi) |
| Strike | NE-SW |
| Displacement | 4.3–6.1 mm (0.17–0.24 in)/yr |
| Tectonics | |
| Plate | South American |
| Status | Active |
| Earthquakes | 1610, 1894 |
| Type | Strike-slip fault |
| Movement | Dextral |
| Age | Holocene |
| Orogeny | Andean |
The Boconó Fault is a complex of geological faults located in the Eastern Ranges of northeastern Colombia and the Mérida Andes of northwestern Venezuela. The fault has a NE-SW orientation; it is a strike-slip fault and has a dextral relative movement.[1] It extends over a length of 500 kilometres (310 mi). The fault, with a slip rate ranging from 4.3 to 6.1 millimetres (0.17 to 0.24 in) per year, has been active since the Early Holocene and earthquakes of 1610 and 1894 are associated with it.[2]
Earth sciences
Geology
Venezuela|
Major South American geological features
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tectonic plates |
|
| |||
| Cratons and shields |
| ||||
| Structures undergoing subduction |
| ||||
| Faults and shear zones |
| ||||
| Rifts and grabens |
| ||||
| Sedimentary basins |
| ||||
| Orogenies |
| ||||
| Metallogenetic provinces |
| ||||
| Volcanism |
| ||||
|
| |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tectonic plates |
|
| |||||||||
| Terranes |
| ||||||||||
| Terrane-bounding fault systems |
| ||||||||||
| Intraterrane faults |
| ||||||||||
| Major earthquakes |
| ||||||||||
| Orogenies |
| ||||||||||
| Other topics |
| ||||||||||
| Sources | Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000). Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions (PDF). USGS. pp. 1–66. Retrieved 2017-06-20. Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015). Geological Map of Colombia. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 1–212. Retrieved 2019-10-29. Various authors (2014). Enciclopedia de desastres naturales históricos de Colombia (PDF). Universidad del Quindío. pp. 1–21. Retrieved 2017-06-20. | ||||||||||
