QuakeBeat

Carrascoy Fault — Murcia's Doorstep Rupture

Murcia, SpainRegion
Strike-slip / reverseType
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The Carrascoy Fault is a northeast-southwest fault about 30 kilometres long bordering the Sierra de Carrascoy just south of the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain. It is a component of the Eastern Betic Shear Zone and helps raise the mountain range against the flat, densely settled Guadalentín and Segura lowlands.

Its movement mixes left-lateral strike-slip with reverse thrusting, uplifting the sierra while accumulating strain at low rates typical of the region. Paleoseismic trenches reveal repeated surface-rupturing earthquakes, marking it as a mature, seismogenic structure right beside a major population centre.

The fault has not ruptured in a large historical earthquake, but its proximity to Murcia and Alcantarilla makes even a moderate event a serious concern, as the deadly 2011 Lorca quake nearby demonstrated. Hazard studies treat Carrascoy as one of the region's most significant capable faults.

Recent earthquakes nearby

Biggest historic earthquakes in the area

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