Morphologic Anatomy of Normal Faults in Central Kachchh Mainland, Kachchh, Western India

Kachchh regiOn of western India has been a site for successive deformatiOnal events since the advent of Mesozoic leading to a considerable amount of structural deformation of the rocks Faulting forms as one of the most conspicuous groups of structures that developed 10 Central Kachchh Mainland (CKM) Normal faults in particular are very well exposed throughout the region These provide an avenue to study then geometry and morphology both in dip section and plan The present study revolves around the geometry and morphology of normal faults exposed in late Cretaceous Bhuj FormatiOn constituting an itercalating sequence of sandtones and shales

The observed morphology of faulting is quite varied, the most interesting being oversteps and bends Both the extensional as well as the contractional offsets of the faults have been observed and are analysed in detail Several morphologic attributes recorded, include the pull-apart structures, fault refraction in the dip section, segmented fault scarps and conjugate faults This note in general is aimed at documenting a variety of normal fault geometry occuring 10 Central Kachchh Mainland and thereby focus on the fact that the zones of oversteps and bends are vulnerable to renewed faulting activity and may serve as potential sites for the earthquake foci in the future

Looking at the extent and type of deformatiOn, it is envisaged that there must be several zones of oversteps and bends existing in Central Kachchh Mainland A careful and proper documentation of such weak zones may go a long way to help proper urban planning and to evaluate perceptible seismic hazard in the area.