Seismotectonic Map of Afghanistan

A seismotectonic map shows geologic, seismological, and other information that
is pertinent to seismic hazards but previously was scattered among many
sources. Afghanistan is part of the Eurasian plate. Afghan seismicity is driven
by the relative northward movements of the Arabian plate past western
Afghanistan at 33 mm/yr and of the Indian plate past eastern Afghanistan at 39
mm/yr or faster as both plates subduct under Eurasia. Afghanistan is laced with
faults. Known faults large enough to have been mapped at a scale of 1:500,000
are least abundant in the stable North Afghan platform, more abundant in the
accreted terranes of southern Afghanistan, and most likely to slip rapidly and
generate earthquakes in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan in the broad
transpressional plate boundary with the Indian plate. Crustal earthquakes are
most abundant in and around northeastern Afghanistan as a result of the
northward subduction of the Indian plate. Crustal earthquakes are somewhat less
abundant in much of the transpressional plate boundary with India. Central and
western Afghanistan are least seismically active. Beneath the Hindu Kush of
northeastern Afghanistan and the Pamirs of adjacent Tajikistan, numerous mantle
earthquakes occur within a steeply dipping, northeast-trending, tabular zone
that is 700 km long and extends nearly to 300 km depth. Except for the Chaman
fault that forms part of the western edge of the transpressional plate boundary
in Pakistan and Afghanistan, published evidence for or against the activity of
individual Afghan faults is sparse.

[Summary provided by the USGS.]