Piedrancha Fault

Piedrancha Fault
Falla de Piedrancha
Etymology	Piedrancha
Coordinates	01°02′13″N 78°01′32″W
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean
State	Nariño
Characteristics
Range	Western Ranges, Andes
Part of	Andean oblique faults
Length	79.5 km (49.4 mi)
Strike	033.8 ± 14
Dip	East
Dip angle	Near-vertical
Displacement	<0.2 mm (0.0079 in)/yr
Tectonics
Plate	North Andean
Status	Inactive
Type	Oblique strike-slip fault
Movement	Dextral reverse
Age	Quaternary
Orogeny	Andean

The Piedrancha Fault (Spanish: Falla de Piedrancha) is a dextral oblique strike-slip fault in the department of Nariño in southwestern Colombia. The fault has a total length of 79.5 kilometres (49.4 mi) and runs along an average northeast to southwest strike of 033.8 ± 14 in the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

Etymology

The fault is named after Piedrancha, the original name for the municipality Mallama in Nariño.

Description

The Piedrancha Fault is in the Nariño Department of southwestern Colombia, on the western slope of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes and to the west of the city of Pasto. The fault places Cretaceous oceanic rocks on the west against Cenozoic volcanic rocks on the east. The fault is believed to extend south into the Republic of Ecuador.

See also

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

References

Bibliography

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

Maps

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