Bahía Solano Fault


The Bahía Solano Fault, Utría Fault or Utría-Bahía Solano Fault is a westward dipping thrust fault in the department of Chocó on the Pacific Coast of Colombia. The fault has a total length of and runs along an average north-south strike of 347 ± 13 from the Panama-Colombia border to Bajo Baudó. The fault is partly offshore in the bays of Solano and Utría and crosses the Chocó Basin and the coastal Serranía del Baudó. Movement of the fault produced the Mw 6.5 1970 Bahía Solano earthquake.

Etymology

The fault is named after Bahía Solano, Chocó.

Description

The Bahía Solano Fault extends along the Pacific Coast of Colombia, bordering the Panama, Coiba, Malpelo and North Andes Plates. It bounds a structural valley between the Solano Bay and Utría Bay, and displaces the Eocene turbidites of the Uva Formation in the south, and Cretaceous oceanic Baudó Basalts in the north, The fault forms a well developed and continuous fault line, and the brecciated zone of the fault reaches in width. The peninsulas of Cabo Corrientes and Bahía Solano are composed of oceanic crust displaced by the Bahía Solano Fault.
Segments of the fault have been called Utría Fault, and Utría-Bahía Solano Fault.

Activity

The slip rate of the fault is estimated at between per year. The fault is active and produced the 1970 Bahía Solano earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a depth of. The earthquake was followed by 123 aftershocks in the period from September 26 to October 7, 1970.

Maps

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