2003 Bachu Earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Bachu earthquake occurred on 24 February, 2003, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

 in northwest China. The epicentre was located near to the town of Bachu
Maralbexi County
Maralbexi County is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and is under the administration of the Kashgar Prefecture. It contains an area of 118,360 km2. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 380,000.-External links:*, official website...

, approximately 105 km east of Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...

 and 310 km west of Aksu. At least 261 people died as a result of the earthquake, and more than 4,000 were injured. Most of the casualties occurred in Bachu county. Almost 10,000 homes were levelled by the earthquake. A further 5 people were killed in powerful aftershocks which occurred on 26 February, 2003.

Tectonic Setting

Seismic activity is common in the Bachu and the surrounding area. It occurs as a result of movement on fault systems that bound the Tien Shan mountain belt. The Tien Shan is actively evolving, as a result of far-field stresses associated with the collision of India and Eurasia.

According to the moment tensor solution, the earthquake occurred on a thrust fault
Thrust fault
A thrust fault is a type of fault, or break in the Earth's crust across which there has been relative movement, in which rocks of lower stratigraphic position are pushed up and over higher strata. They are often recognized because they place older rocks above younger...

that dips 6° to the north, and strikes approximately east-west. Such a gentle dip angle implies that the earthquake may have occurred on or just above the basal detachment of the neighbouring fold-thrust belts. There is no evidence of oblique-slip or strike-slip movement.

External links

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