Evidence of a Palaeoseismic Event from the Deccan Plateau Uplands

Palaeoseismic evidence is recorded for the first time from the upland region near the crest of the Deccan plateau. Some of the soft-sediment deformation structures from Quaternary sediments in the Chandanapuri valley are interpreted as seismites. These sediments rest nonconformably upon the Deccan Traps and are inherently anomalous vis-a-vis their location in the river valley. Based on various features and their position in the succession of the sediments, these seismites are provisionally attributed to a single event with an inferred magnitude > 6.5 M, which occurred 5000 - 7000 years ago. This report highlights the need to re-evaluate the traditional perception of the aseismic nature of the main Deccan plateau.