Determination of structural geological characteristics and seismicity of Hasan Timur Lake Fault (özalp-Van)

After the October 23, 2011 Van-Tabanlı (Mw 7.2) and November 9, 2011 VanEdremit (Mw 5.6) earthquakes, determining the characteristics and activities of the faults in the Van Lake Basin and its immediate vicinity has gained great importance. This study aims to reveal the structural characteristics of the Hasan Timur Gölü Fault, located approximately 25 km northeast of the Özalp District of Van, around Aşağıtulgalı, Damlacık and Eğribelen villages, and its importance in terms of active tectonism. The data obtained as a result of field studies show that the fault has a NW direction and a dextral strike-slip characteristic. The Hasan Timur Gölü Fault, which is the subject of the thesis study, is defined as a Holocene fault in the Active Fault Map of Turkey. It starts in the north from the Yukarıbalçıklı Village and continues in a NW-SE direction until the Iranian border for approximately 32 km. During field studies, the existence of a fault parallel to the Hasan Timur Lake Fault was determined and this fault, which was identified for the first time, was identified as Damlacık Fault. The seismicity of the 14 km long Damlacık Fault was revealed in the light of the geomorphological data determined on it. Existing earthquake records and focal mechanism solutions show that the faults in the study area have the potential to produce earthquakes with a magnitude of M>6. Keywords: Active tectonism, Damlacık Fault, Hasan Timur Gölü Fault, Structural geology