Post-Neogene right-lateral strikeaslip tectonics at the north-western edge of the Lut Block (Kuh-eaSarhangi Fault), Central Iran

Late Cenozoic strikeaslip 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-eaSarhangi Fault, a major NEaSW striking brittle deformation zone that cuts across the basement and NeogeneaQuaternary cover successions at the north-western edge of the Lut Block. Structural investigations document post-Neogene NEaSW 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 strikeaslip 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.