Post-Neogene right-lateral strike–slip tectonics at the north-western edge of the Lut Block (Kuh-e–Sarhangi Fault), Central Iran

Late Cenozoic strike–slip tectonics and active faulting in Central Iran have been extensively described in the last decades. This study presents results of integrated structural and geomorphological analyses along the Kuh-e–Sarhangi Fault, a major NE–SW striking brittle deformation zone that cuts across the basement and Neogene–Quaternary cover successions at the north-western edge of the Lut Block. Structural investigations document post-Neogene NE–SW dextral transpressive tectonics and geomorphic evidence support a Late Quaternary age for the faulted alluvial fan deposits along the bedrock range fronts. Northward, the nearly parallel Great Kavir (Doruneh) Fault is known to have active left-lateral strike–slip kinematics, and its easternmost segment was considered as the northern margin of the Lut Block. The new findings impose reconsideration of the current regional kinematic models, with implications on the seismogenic fault networks of Central Iran.

► Post-Neogene dextral intraplate faulting at the northwestern edge of the Lut Block
► Evidence for involvement of Quaternary deposits in faulting
► A revised kinematic scenario for the post-Neogene intraplate shearing of Central Iran