The Late Quaternary dip–slip characteristics of the left-lateral strike-slip Yuanmou fault, the southwestern margin of the north–south seismic belt of China

The North–South Seismic Belt distributed along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is a regional-scale seismically active zone. The Yuanmou Fault, located at the junction of the North–South Seismic Belt and the Central Yunnan Sub-Block, is an important boundary of earthquakes distribution and topography. Therefore, the studying of the Late Quaternary activity of the Yuanmou Fault is of great significance to understand the regional geodynamic mechanism and its efforts on the regional tectonic activities, seismic distribution and future risk. Based on field observations and analysis of earthquake geology and tectonic geomorphology and the dating results of Quaternary chronology, together with the previous studies, revealed that: (1) the fluvial terrace T1 was cut by the Yuanmou fault on the northern section of Jiangbian, and the most recent earthquake event happened about 7 ka B.P. age on the Jiangbian–Luochuan segment. (2) Based on the offset measurement and dating results of deformed terraces, the horizontal and vertical average slip rate of the Yuanmou fault were determined to be ~ 1.0 mm/year and ~ 0.1 mm/year, respectively. (3) Moreover, the latest activity time of the southern segment of the Yuanmou Fault is late Pleistocene, indicating the segmentation between the northern and southern segments of the Yuanmou Fault. (4) The differential activity intensity and activity ways of the Yuanmou Fault on different segments is probably associated with the change of local stress. Therefore, these findings concerning with seismic activities and activity segmentation of the Yuanmou Fault reveal the complexity of the regional dynamic mechanisms and provide a new insight for exploring regional differences in the tectonic deformation mechanisms of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau during the Late Cenozoic.