Popis: |
The southern Sanyi Fault extends across a highly urbanized area in central-west Taiwan. It is within 1–2 km from and generally parallels the northern Chelungpu Fault, which last ruptured in 1999 (Mw = 7.6 Chi-Chi Earthquake) and caused about 2400 fatalities. Several questions thus arise: is the Sanyi Fault likewise active? what is its geometry and extent? and should it be zoned or otherwise designated to mitigate risk through restrictions on development or engineering design? We address these questions by mapping river-exposed outcrops, by interpreting nine, near-surface geophysical surveys (electrical resistivity tomography [ERT]), and by compiling and assessing existing shallow borehole data. Outcrops in the Dajia River show that the Sanyi Fault is mainly a low-angle thrust that juxtaposes poorly lithified sandstone over alluvial gravels. Fault branches are common both in the hanging wall and footwall. To the south, the fault is not marked by a break in topography and its trace has not been clearly mapped within the alluvial plain, in part motivating the current effort. Here the ERT surveys identify the hanging-wall sandstone by a relatively low resistivity of |