The Cadell Fault is a reverse fault in northern Victoria, near the town of Echuca, running roughly north-south for about 80 kilometres across the flat plains of the Murray-Darling basin. It is one of the most remarkable intraplate faults in Australia, sitting far from any active plate boundary within the stable continental interior.
The fault has uplifted the land on its eastern side to form the low Cadell Tilt Block, raising it by up to about 12 metres and dramatically disrupting the region's rivers. This uplift forced the mighty Murray River to divert around the block, creating anomalous river bends, ancient abandoned channels and the vast Barmah wetlands upstream.
Although currently quiescent, geological evidence shows the Cadell Fault produced large earthquakes within the last twenty to sixty thousand years, causing the offsets that reshaped the landscape. It stands as a classic illustration that even the stable heart of Australia can host powerful earthquakes on long-dormant faults.