Delineation of Thrusts/Lineaments Using Geospatial Technologies Over Sub Himalayan Region, India

Himalayan Region is one of the most seismically active regions with numerous shallow and medium earthquakes occurrences. Identification of Morphotectonic features and establishing its relation to tectonics are the main objective of the present study. To achieve the objective, an integrated approach of Remote Sensing and GIS is used to identify significant Morphotectonic features in the study area. The prominent river basins draining the area are Ganga, Yamuna, Sutlej, and Beas. Different morphotectonic techniques and indices are extensively studied to reconstruct the tectonic activities of the area. Active fault displacement has a huge impact on landforms and river morphology which is distributed to Kangra re-entrant structure. A large number of landforms has developed in the Sutjel and Beas basin, marked by NW-SE trending linear ridges. Extensive river network has formed in the area and rivers have crossed these ridges at several places. SW area of the re-entrant is marked by a high-density drainage Network. The detailed study of the longitudinal river profile of the Beas and Sutlej River have shown clear signatures of the HFT, Jwalamukhi thrust, and MBT. Jwalamukhi thrust and MBT are very prominent. The river becomes braided within the area after entering Jaisingpur and near Jwalamukhi thrust the sinuosity of the river increases significantly and gorges can be seen before the thrust. The Yamuna river system shows significant geomorphological changes in the Dehradun valley and Mohand anticline as they flow into the Himalayan foreland. It is observed that the elevation of the Yamuna River decreases consistently along the Dun region after crossing the MBT. In Dun valley, the elevation decreases at a uniform level but starts decreasing at a faster rate towards the Mohand anticline. Both Ganga and Yamuna Rivers are controlled by Ganga tear fault and Yamuna tear fault respectively.