ARATA SUGIMURA Geological Institute, Faculty of Science, The
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ARATA SUGIMURA Geological Institute, Faculty of Science, The University ofTol^yo, To\yo, Japan TOKIHIKO MATSUDA Earthquake Research Institute, The University ofTofyo, Tofyo, Japan Atera Fault and Its Displacement Vectors Abstract: The northwest-southeast-trending Atera cal; (2) the faulting, to date, has been consistently fault, which is expressed geomorphologically and left lateral; (3) the rate of faulting seems to have geologically, cuts many terraces of the Kiso River been almost consistent (about 2-4 m/1000 yrs.). in central Japan. The authors measured the vertical It is noted that the Neo Valley fault is subparallel and horizontal displacement of the fault from the to the Atera fault, and that its displacement is also offset of the terrace surfaces and faces (scarps). left lateral. Data on recent strike-slip fault dis- Seven displacement vectors were calculated in the placements in central Japan, in part from this fault plane. They show that (1) the horizontal dis- specific study, show a regular pattern of geographic placement is about five times larger than the verti- distribution of strains. CONTENTS Introduction 509 7. Drawing prepared from aerial view shown in Acknowledgments 509 Plate 1 515 Location and topography 510 8. Diagram of terrace surfaces and terrace faces Geology 511 displaced by the Atera fault 516 Displacements of river terraces 511 9. Schematic sketch showing a relationship be- Terraces of the Kiso River in Sakasita .... 511 tween terrace surfaces and terrace faces . 516 The fault trace on the terraces 513 10. Plan of survey of the fault displacement in Displacement vectors on the fault 514 Sakasita 517 Distribution of displacement along the fault. 517 11. Diagram of the Atera fault displacements . 518 Recent activity 518 12. Displacement vectors of the Atera fault . 519 Discussion 519 13. Recent strike-slip faults in central Japan . 521 References cited 521 Figure Plate 1. Index map of the Atera fault area, Japan . 510 1. Aerial view of the Atera fault at Sakasita, Japan 516 2. Envelope: configuration map of the Atera fault 2. Atera fault at Sakasita, Japan 517 area 512 3. Compiled geologic map of the Atera fault area 513 4. Topographic map of the Sakasita area. ... 514 Table 5. Geologic map of the Sakasita area 514 1. Elements of displacement vectors of the Atera 6. Section of terrace deposits in Sakasita, west of fault, Japan 518 the Kiso River, Kiso Valley 515 2. Strike-slip earthquake faults in Japan .... 520 which is subparallel to the Neo Valley fault INTRODUCTION at a distance of about 50 km and is expressed During the Mino-Owari earthquake in 1891 both geologically and geomorphologically. Re- the earth's surface was visibly displaced and cently Okayama (1959) noted that the Atera fault scarps were formed (Koto, 1893; Ima- fault transects the many terraces of the Kiso mura, 1937, p. 50-53). The northwest-trending River producing a small scarp. The authors zone where the displacement occurred is called decided that detailed study of the river terrace the Neo Valley fault. The Neo Valley lies displacement similar to the studies done by 60 km north-northwest of Nagoya in central the New Zealand authors (e.g. Wellman, 1955) Japan. would be necessary to elucidate the process of The Atera1 fault is one of the active faults the movement along faults. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 Although the Atera fault was described as the The authors wish to thank C. R. Allen, "Adera" fault in some published reports, the name R. B. Forbes, J. C. Crowell, and T. Kimura "Atera" is more proper and authorized. for careful criticism of the manuscript. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 76, p. 509-522, 13 figs., 2 pis., May 1965 509 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/76/5/509/3442371/i0016-7606-76-5-509.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 510 SUGIMURA AND MATSUDA—ATERA FAULT AND ITS DISPLACEMENT VECTORS valleys; (3) the highest summit in a hexagon LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY is chosen; and then (4) the regional variation The Atera fault can be traced for more than of the highest summits in the area is shown by 60 km to the northwest from Magome (lat. contour lines with an interval of 100 m. The 35°31' N., long. 137°35' E.), through Sakasita regional variation thus obtained is the envelope (lat. 35°35' N., long. 137°32' E.), Tuketi configuration, that is, an imaginary topog- (lat. 35°40' N., long. 137°25' E.), Gero (lat. raphy without smaller dissecting valleys. This 35°48' N., long. 137°15' E.), and Hagiwara imaginary topography expresses the combined NAGANO Figure 1. Index map of the Atera fault area, Japan. Heavy line: the Atera fault; Solid line: rivers; Dashed line: leveling route; Dashed and dotted line: boundary of prefectures (lat. 35°53' N., long. 137°12' E.). Except for effects of earth movements and regional Magome which is in Nagano Prefecture these erosion and subdues the effects of local erosion. localities are in Gihu Prefecture (Fig. 1). The Figure 3 is discussed in the section on "Geol- fault is developed between the foot of the ogy." Japan Alps and the plains of Nobi (or Mino- One of the most conspicuous features shown Owari), in which Nagoya City is located. in Figure 2 is a steep slope which dips to the In order to show the outline of topography southwest. The crest northeast of the slope in the Atera area, the authors have prepared is the Atera Range which has an average an envelope configuration map of this region elevation of about 1600 m; the area southwest (Fig. 2). The method of preparation is as of the slope is the Hutatumori Hills, which has follows: (1) the average width of the dissecting an average elevation of about 800 m. The valleys (or the average distance between the highest summit of the Atera Range (Mt. ridges) in this region is obtained; (2) the whole Ohide) is 1982 m and that of the Hutatumori area is divided into many identical regular Hills (Mt. Hutatumori) is 1223 m. The hexagons, the sides of which have a half difference in elevation between the summits length (1 km) of the average width of the as well as the two areas in general is about 800 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/76/5/509/3442371/i0016-7606-76-5-509.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY 511 m. The slope between the areas has been Almost all parts of this fault consist of Nohi called the Atera fault scarp by some geo- rhyolitic welded tuff. According to Yamada morphologists (Tsujimura, 1929, p. 223-226; (1961), the main fault is a zone of parallel Okayama, 1930; Ito, 1941; Kaizuka and minor faults about 1 km wide, and the con- others, 1963, p. 93-98, 115-116). A series of stituent minor faults are zones of crushed and fault-line valleys, separated by several in- shattered rock about 100 m wide. At Kasimo, valley divides, extends along the base of the in the middle portion of the Atera fault, the fault scarp. At several places stream channels authors observed a vertical zone of fractured are offset, suggesting that the area northeast of rock about 15 m wide, which was in part the fault has moved 7-10 km to the northwest crushed breccia and clay. with respect to the southwest block. Figure 5 is a geological map of Sakasita after Near the southeastern end of the Atera Yamada and Murayama (1958), partly re- fault, at Sakasita, the Kiso River crosses the vised by the authors. The authors observed a fault line. Several river terraces have been crushed zone of the Atera fault which was formed there (Fig. 4). about 20 m wide at several localities. At a place about 2 km southeast of Sakasita, the GEOLOGY Atera fault meets the right lateral Kakizoretoge The geology in the area of the Atera fault fault (b-b in Fig. 5). Granite-porphyry is offset is shown in Figure 3, a revised map based on right laterally more than 500 m by the fault. the geological map of lida (Geological Survey Yamada (1961) has assigned the faulting across of Japan, 1961). The basement rocks of the the Atera fault to the same age as that of the area are grouped into three belts that extend main faulting of the Atera fault. This suggests from southwest to northeast: (1) The Hida that the Atera fault and the Kakizoretoge belt, which includes the upper left-hand fault group may form a set of conjugate corner of Figure 3; (2) The Ryoke belt, in the faults. lower right-hand corner of Figure 3; and (3) A belt of unmetamorphosed rocks which oc- DISPLACEMENTS OF RIVER cupies the zone between (1) and (2). Hida TERRACES and Ryoke belts consist of metamorphic and granitic rocks, and are regarded as Late Terraces of the Kiso River in Sakasita Paleozoic and/or Mesozoic orogenic belts. Nine river terraces, all on the west side of the During Late Cretaceous time, the Nohi Kiso River, are recognized in Sakasita. They rhyolitic welded tuff was deposited, with a are: I, the flood plain of the Kiso River; II, total volume of 3000 km3 (Kawada and III, and IV, Saihozi terrace group2; V, Sakasita- others, 1961). The deposition of the tuff was sinden terrace; VI, and VII, Sakasita terrace accompanied by the intrusion of the Naegi- group2; VIII, Takabe terrace2; and IX, Agematu granite and other granitic plutons. SySgenzi terrace2. The terraces are listed in During the Paleogene the land area was order of increasing age.