Remote sensing data analysis for mapping active faults in the northwestern part of Kangra Valley, NW Himalaya, India

Abstract

Aerospace data show morphological features indicative of two prominent active faults to the northwest of the Kangra valley, the meizoseismal zone of the 1905 Kangra earthquake (M 7.8). Topographical features indicative of long‐term uplift/deformation during the Holocene and cumulative slip along these faults reflect the manifestation of normal faulting. The south‐side‐up behaviour of these two faults is in contrast to the general north‐side‐up movement along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). The newly identified faults suggest that the fault scarps have developed because of large‐magnitude earthquakes in the past, preceding the known 1905 Kangra earthquake. The study also demonstrates that valuable geomorphological and structural inferences associated with active tectonics are possible using high‐resolution satellite data for the tectonically complex terrain of the Himalaya.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Prof. B R. Arora, Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun for facilities and permission to publish this article, and Drs Yuichi Sugiyama, AFRC, Japan, N. S. Virdi, and R. K. Mazari of WIHG for their constructive comments and suggestions for improvements to the manuscript.