Left-Lateral Strike-Slip Faulting in the East Alborz, NE Iran

The East Alborz mountains of NE Iran are actively deforming as a result of Arabia-Eurasia collision. We combine observations of the geomorphology made using high resolution satellite, topographic and field data, with historical and recent seismicity to map major active faults in this poorly studied region. Deformation on the north side of the range occurs by range-normal shortening on the Khazar thrust fault, which separates Central Iran from the South Caspian. South of the range, deformation involves both left-lateral slip on the previously undocumented Shahrud fault system, which comprises several range-bounding fault segments, and shortening on (probably minor) thrust faults. Faulting south of the range is responsible for major historical earthquakes at Damghan (856AD) and Shahrud (1890). Deformation accommodated across the East Alborz is estimated from the difference in GPS velocities north and south of the range. South of the Alborz, northward GPS velocities across Central Iran decrease eastwards and the strike of the deforming belt changes to become more sub-parallel to the direction of South Caspian- Iran relative motion. This reduces the shortening component across the East Alborz, resulting in lower elevations between 54--57°E. West of 55.5°E, the more arc-normal shortening is achieved by partitioning of deformation onto the Khazar thrust (~1 mm/yr) and the Astaneh and Firuzkuh strike-slip faults (~3 mm/yr). East of 55.5°E, the Khazar fault ends and East Alborz deformation is accommodated primarily on the left-lateral Shahrud fault system, which may slip up to 3~mm/yr. Due to the long gap in seismicity along the eastern Shahrud fault system, the city of Jajarm (15,000 pop.) is considered at high risk from future earthquakes.