Guáitara Fault

Guáitara Fault
Falla de Guáitara
Etymology	Guáitara River
Coordinates	00°53′50″N 77°31′54″W
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean
State	Nariño
Cities	Ipiales
Characteristics
Range	Western Ranges, Andes
Part of	Andean strike-slip faults
Length	36.1 km (22.4 mi)
Strike	044.1 ± 4
Dip	East
Dip angle	High
Displacement	<0.2 mm (0.0079 in)/yr
Tectonics
Plate	North Andean
Status	Inactive
Type	Strike-slip fault
Movement	Dextral
Age	Quaternary
Orogeny	Andean
Volcanic arc/belt	North Volcanic Zone  Andean Volcanic Belt

The Guáitara Fault (Spanish: Falla de Guáitara) is a dextral strike-slip fault in the department of Nariño in southwestern Colombia. The fault has a total length of 36.1 kilometres (22.4 mi) and runs along an average northeast to the southwest strike of 044.1 ± 4 in the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

Etymology

The fault is named after the Guáitara River in Nariño.

Description

The Guáitara Fault is in the Nariño Department of southwestern Colombia, crossing the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes and to the south of the city of Pasto. The fault offsets Neogene volcanic rocks. The fault is believed to extend south into the Republic of Ecuador and may be part of the megaregional Romeral Fault System. The fault forms well-developed deep V-shaped valleys, linear topographic features, fault-controlled drainage, deflected streams, and elongated hills.

See also

• List of earthquakes in Colombia
• Piedrancha Fault
• Romeral Fault System

References

Bibliography

• Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000a), Map and Database of Quaternary Faults and Folds in Colombia and its Offshore Regions (PDF), USGS, pp. 1–66, retrieved 2017-09-18

Maps

• Paris, Gabriel; Machette, Michael N.; Dart, Richard L.; Haller, Kathleen M. (2000b), Map of Quaternary Faults and Folds of Colombia and Its Offshore Regions (PDF), USGS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-09-18