The Emergency Scientific Investigation on the Surface Rupture Zone of the Ms 7. 1 Yushu Earthquake

The coseismic surface rupture zone of the seismogenic fault of the Ms7.1 Yushu earthquake includes three left-stepping main ruptures, striking 300°- 320°, in general. An approximately 2km-long en echelon tension fissure zone was found at Longbao town. The main rupture in the northern part is about 16km long, about 9kin long in the middle part, and about 7km long in the southern part, with a total length of 34km. Each of the main ruptures consists of a series of en echelon sub-ruptures represented by a series of compression bulges alternating with tension fissures or by en echelon fissures. The rupture at Changusi, the southernmost of the ruptures, is characterized by vertical displacement, with a value of 50cm. The rupture zone shows left-lateral strike-slip characteristics. The maximal horizontal slip is on the northern main rupture, with a value of 1.8m.