The application of palaeolandsurface analysis to the study of recent tectonics in central Italy

Abstract: The analysis of remnant landsurfaces was c rried out on the ranges urrounding three intermontane basins located in the central and southern Apennines. All three basins developed uring the Pliocene and Quaternary, but each had a different geological, geomor-phological nd structural setting. Landsurfaces taken into account were those which aided in the identification f strath terraces ituated on the walls of the basins. Recognition and com-parison of terrace sequences aided the evaluation of the tectonic behaviour of each area by identifying sectors with differential vertical movements and by assessing the activity of the faults that caused them. The analysis of individual cases also provided useful information on fault activity that could help in devising structural schemes related to active tectonics. The identification of the main active faults in the Apennines i hindered by its complex Quaternary tectonic setting (e.g. CNR-PFG 1987). This represents one of the most compelling problems of seismotectonic research in Italy. The Apennine thrust belt has experienced NE