Tectonic activity and structural features of active intracontinental normal faults in the Weihe Graben, central China

• We studied the active normal faults in the eastern Weihe Graben.
• Details of active normal fault distribution and fault geometry are shown.
• Tectonic activity and structural features of active faults are demonstrated.
• Late Pleistocene average dip–slip rate is estimated to be ~ 2.1 to 5.7 mm/yr.
• Variations of lithospheric structures affect the deformation of graben systems.

This study examines the tectonic activity and structural features of active normal faults in the Weihe Graben, central China. The Weihe Graben is an area with a high level of historic seismicity, and it is one of the intracontinental systems that developed since Tertiary in the extensional environment around the Ordos Block. Analysis of high-resolution remote-sensing imagery data, field observations, and radiocarbon dating results reveal the following: i) active normal faults are mainly developed within a zone < 500 m wide along the southern border of the eastern part of the Weihe Graben; ii) the active faults that have been identified are characterized by stepwise fault scarps dipping into the graben at angles of 40°–71°; iii) there are numerous discontinuous individual fault traces, ranging in length from a few tens of meters to 450 m (generally < 200 m); iv) fault zone structures, topographic features, and fault striations on the main fault planes indicate almost pure normal-slip; and v) late Pleistocene–Holocene terrace risers, loess, and alluvial deposits have been vertically offset by up to ~ 80 m, with a non-uniform dip–slip rate (throw-rates) ranging from ~ 2.1 to 5.7 mm/yr, mostly 2–3 mm/yr. Our results reveal that active normal faults have been developing in the Weihe Graben under an ongoing extensional environment, probably associated with the pre-existing graben and spreading of the continental crust, and this is in contrast with the Ordos Block and neighboring orogenic regions. These results provide new insights into the nature of extensional tectonic deformation in intracontinental graben systems.