The Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone is a northwest-trending geological fault zone in
southern Chile
Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
The fault zone runs from
Mocha Island
Mocha Island ( es, link=no, Isla Mocha ) is a small Chilean island located west of the coast of Arauco Province in the Pacific Ocean. The island is approximately in area, with a small chain of mountains running roughly in north-south direction. ...
in the Pacific to the Andes where it aligns
Villarrica,
Quetrupillán and
Lanín
Lanín is an ice-clad, cone-shaped stratovolcano on the border of Argentina and Chile. It forms part of two national parks: Lanín in Argentina and Villarrica in Chile. It is a symbol of the Argentine province of Neuquén, being part of its f ...
volcanoes.
It is one of several fault zones that traverses the north-south
Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault
The Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault is major geological fault that runs a length of roughly in a NNE-SSW orientation and exhibits current seismicity. It is located in the Chilean Northern Patagonian Andes. It is a dextral intra-arc strike-slip fault. Most ...
.
References
{{coord missing, Chile
Thrust faults
Geology of Biobío Region
Geology of Araucanía Region
Geology of Los Ríos Region
Geology of Neuquén Province
Coasts of Biobío Region