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The Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), also known as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), is a geological fault in the
The Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), also known as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), is a geological fault in the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
that defines the boundary between the Himalayan foothills and Indo-Gangetic Plain
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...
. The fault is well expressed on the surface thus could be seen via satellite imagery. It is the youngest and southernmost thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...
structure in the Himalaya deformation front. It is a splay branch of the Main Himalayan Thrust
The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a northwest-southeast strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dips about 10 degrees towards the north, beneath the region. It is the large ...
(MHT) as the root décollement
Décollement () is a gliding plane between two rock masses, also known as a basal detachment fault. Décollements are a Deformation (geology), deformational structure, resulting in independent styles of deformation in the rocks above and below t ...
.
Background
It runs parallel to other major splays of the MHT, the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT). The Sunda Megathrust, which extends from the Banda Islands toMyanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, is joined with the MFT. The fault strikes in a northwest-southeast direction and dips at an angle of 20° to 30° in the north.
The Main Boundary Thrust is another major thrust fault in the Himalaya orogenic wedge that was active in the Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
. It runs parallel to the MFT with a spacing distance of about 20 km.
Shortening rate
Shortening rate varies across the MFT; these figures provide the speed in various locations.Seismic activity
The MFT accommodates almost the entire rate of subduction of theIndian Plate
The Indian plate (or India plate) is or was a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana an ...
; numerous large earthquakes have occurred along this fault, and is expected to produce more in the future.{{Cite book, last1=Bilham , first1=R. , editor1-last=Treloar , editor1-first=P.J. , editor2-last=Searle , editor2-first=M.P. , title=Himalayan Tectonics: A Modern Synthesis , chapter=Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and early 21st century slip potential , series=Geological Society, London, Special Publications , year=2019 , volume=483 , pages=423–482 , doi=10.1144/SP483.16, isbn = 9781786204059, s2cid=133821585 Many earthquakes associated with the MFT has resulted in visible ground ruptures, as seen in the Bihar earthquake of 1934 and 1505 magnitude 8.2–8.8 earthquake.
References