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Tectonic Summary (Ref: USGS)
The Sichuan earthquake of May 12, 2008, occurred as the result of motion
on a northeast
striking reverse fault or thrust fault on the
northwestern margin of the Sichuan Basin. The earthquake's epicenter
and focal-mechanism are consistent with it having occurred as the
result of movement on the Longmenshan fault or a tectonically
related fault. The earthquake reflects tectonic stresses resulting
from the convergence of crustal material slowly moving from the high
Tibetan Plateau, to the west, against strong crust underlying the
Sichuan Basin and southeastern China.
On a continental scale, the seismicity of central and eastern Asia is a
result of northward
convergence of the India plate against the Eurasia plate
with a velocity of about 50 mm/y. The convergence of the two plates
is broadly accommodated by the uplift of the Asian highlands and by
the motion of crustal material to the east away from the uplifted
Tibetan Plateau.
Source of image:
Tectonic Observatories,
http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/2008MayChinaEQ/xichuan.html
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