A General Overview of Seismicity and Active Fault Systems in the Çukurova Region/Southern Turkey

Çukurova region, located in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey, are close to the major fault lineaments and pointed within the boundaries of 1st and 2nd rank earthquake zones. The region includes a seismically active area among important active tectonic structures such as the Eastern Anatolian Fault System, Ecemiş Fault Zone and Hellenic-Cyprus arc. Therefore, the seismicity of the region is controlled by the main active structures mentioned above and their sub-branches. Historical and instrumental seismic records in the region are examined. It is seen that there are many middle to large scale earthquakes in the region from 69 BC up to today. In the period between 1500-1800, damaging earthquakes frequently occurring on the Tarsus-Antakya-Aleppo axis are noteworthy. Especially in the period between the early 1600s and the mid-1800s, there are many earthquakes in Aleppo and Antakya. The determination of the geometric characteristics of these fault systems affecting the region is of vital importance for predicting earthquakes that may occur in the future and taking measures against them. The main fault zones in the region that we have summarized in this study are: approximately N-S trending sinistral Misis (İmamoğlu) Fault, NE-SW trending and both also sinistral Karataş and Yumurtalık Faults which are nearly parallel to each other. Located very close to the İmamoğlu fault zone (about 10 km) an earthquake of M=4,5 has occurred in 2 February 2019 near Ayşehoca village just 35 km NE of Adana city. Here we report main characteristics of these 3 fault zones and their effects on the seismicity of the region.Çukurova Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birim