Strike-slip fault geometry in Turkey and its influence on earthquake activity

The geometry of Turkish strike-slip faults is reviewed, showing that fault geometry plays an important role in controlling the location of large earthquake rupture segments along the fault zones. It is found that large earthquake ruptures generally do not propagate past individual stepovers that are wider than 5 km or bends that have angles greater than about 30 degrees. It is suggested that certain geometric patterns are responsible for strain accumulation along portions of the fault zone. It is shown that fault geometry plays a role in the characteristics of earthquake behavior and that aftershocks and swarm activity are often associated with releasing areas.