The response of drainage basins to the late Quaternary tectonics in the Sicilian side of the Messina Strait (NE Sicily)

Geomorphological analyses allow the study of modifications that affect hydrographic basins, particularly modifications due to active tectonics, and the quantitative description of landforms. The evaluation of geomorphic indices may be used to appraise the influence of active faults on the hydrographic network. A geomorphological analysis was carried out on drainage basins of the northern portion of the Sicilian side of the Messina Strait. This strait separates southern Calabria from Sicily and has a NNE-SSW orientation in its southern part, passing to a ENE-WSW trend at its northern part. This area has been subjected to disastrous earthquakes during the last centuries and considerable uplift during the late Quaternary, as testified by the presence of uplifted marine terraces. The study has revealed the recent activity of some of the fault systems recognized in this area, and has allowed reconstruction of the evolution of the fluvial network which develops initially with a ESE-trending drainage direction (90–100 ky), later shifting to the SSE, toward the present-day coast line. Finally, this portion of the Messina Strait is controlled by ENE-WSW-trending normal faults and NNW-SSE oblique dextral faults, which are responsible of the recent deformation and the consequent modification of the hydrographic network.