Seismic properties of the Longmen Shan complex: Implications for the moment magnitude of the great 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China

► Seismic properties of Longmen Shan complex where the Wenchuan earthquake occurred. ► Variations of anisotropy with pressure indicate the microcrack preferred orientation. ► The crust consists of 4 layers with the dominant felsic composition (~ 80%). ► An accurate estimate yields Mw7.9-8.0 for the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.