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Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault
Falla de Liquiñe-Ofqui
Approximate extent of the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault shown in red. Note that it is near parallel to the Peru-Chile Trench, the coastline, the Chilean Coast Range and the Andes
Etymology	Liquiñe, Ofqui
Named by	Hervé et al.
Year defined	1979
Country	Chile
Characteristics
Range	Andes
Length	1,200 km (750 mi)
Tectonics
Plate	South American
Status	Active
Earthquakes	1960 Valdivia earthquake aftershock, 2007 Aysén Fjord earthquakes
Type	Intra-arc strike-slip fault
Movement	Dextral
Orogeny	Andean
Volcanic arc/belt	Southern Volcanic Zone

The Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault is major geological fault that runs a length of roughly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) in a NNE-SSW orientation and exhibits current seismicity. It is located in the Chilean Northern Patagonian Andes. It is a dextral intra-arc strike-slip fault. Most large stratovolcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes are aligned by the fault which allows for the movement of magma and hydrothermal fluids.

The fault crosses several transverse faults including the Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone (MVFZ) and the Biobío-Aluminé Fault Zone. The fault has had periods of ductile deformation associated to pluton emplacement, be it either at great depths or by shallow intrusions.

The forces that move the fault are derivative of the oblique subduction offshore Chile's coast. This leads to partition of deformation between the subduction zone, the fore-arc and the intra-arc region where the fault lies. There is evidence that the fault broke as a M_w 9.07 subevent in the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. A portion of the fault in Aysén Region likely slipped (moved) in an aftershock a few weeks after the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. This same portion slipped again in April 2007, causing earthquakes in Aysén Fjord, triggering landslides and a local tsunami.

The fault name was coined by Francisco Hervé, I. Fuenzalida, E. Araya and A. Solano in 1979. The existence of the fault was first inferred by Chilean government agent Hans Steffen around 1900, who referred to it as a "tectonic furrow" (Spanish: surco tectónico).

See also

• Chile triple junction

References

1. Lange, D.; Cembrano, J.; Rietbrock, A.; Haberland, C.; Dahm, T.; Bataille, K (April 2008). "First seismic record for intra-arc strike-slip tectonics along the Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone at the obliquely convergent plate margin of the southern Andes". Tectonophysics. 455 (1–4): 14. Bibcode:2008Tectp.455...14L. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.04.014. hdl:10533/139825.
2. ^ Pérez-Flores, Pamela; Cembrano, José; Sánchez-Alfaro, Pablo; Veloso, Eugenio; Arancibia, Gloria; Roquer, Tomás (2016). "Tectonics, magmatism and paleo-fluid distribution in a strike-slip setting: Insights from the northern termination of the Liquiñe–Ofqui fault System, Chile" (PDF). Tectonophysics. 680: 192–210. Bibcode:2016Tectp.680..192P. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.05.016. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
3. Adriasola, Alberto C.; Stockhert, Bernhard (2008). "Cooling histories and deformation of plutonic rocks along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone, Southern Chile (41°-42°15'S)". Revista Geológica de Chile. 35 (1): 39–61. doi:10.4067/s0716-02082008000100002.
4. Kanamori, Hiroo (July 2019). "Evidence for a large strike-slip component during the 1960 Chilean earthquake". Geophysical Journal International. 218 (1): 1–32. doi:10.1093/gji/ggz113. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
5. ^ Kanamori, Hiroo; Rivera, Luis (2017). "An Mw =7.7 slow earthquake in 1960 near the Ays´en Fjord region, Chile" (PDF). Geophysical Journal International. 211: 93–106. doi:10.1093/gji/ggx292. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
6. ^ Hauser, A. (1991). "Hans Steffen, precursor del concepto falla Liquiñe-Ofqui". Revista Geológica de Chile (in Spanish). 18: 177–179.

v t e Geology of Chile
Terranes	Arequipa-Antofalla Chaitenia Chilenia Chiloé Cuyania Fitz Roy Madre de Dios Mejillonia Patagonia
Sedimentary formations and groups	Cenozoic Neogene Abanico Fm. Angostura Fm. Ayacara Fm. Bahía Inglesa Fm. Caldera Beds Caleta Godoy Fm. Caleta Herradura Fm. Campanario Fm. Chaicayán Gp. Cheuquemó Fm. Cholchol Fm. Chucal Fm. Cola de Zorro Fm. Coquimbo Fm. Cura-Mallín Gp. Farellones Fm. La Cascada Fm. Lacui Fm. La Montaña Fm. La Portada Fm. Lauca Fm. Malleco Fm. Mininco Fm. Navidad Fm. Oxaya Fm. Parga Fm. Puduhuapi Fm. Pupunahue Beds Quebrada Macusa Fm. Ranquil Fm. Río Frías Fm. San Pedro Beds Santo Domingo Fm. Temuco Fm. Traiguén Fm. Trapa-Trapa Fm. Tubul Fm. Vargas Fm. Paleogene Abanico Fm. Azapa Fm. Caleta Chonos Fm. Cheuquemó Fm. Cura-Mallín Gp. La Cascada Fm. Lebu Gp. Loreto Fm. Lupica Fm. Oxaya Fm. Parga Fm. Purilactis Gp. Pupunahue Beds Temuco Fm. Vargas Fm. Mesozoic Cretaceous Baños del Flaco Fm. Cerro Colorado Fm. Chacarilla Fm. Chañarcillo Gp. Coihaique Gp. Divisadero Gp. Dorotea Fm. Hornitos Fm. La Liga Fm. Ñirehuao Fm. Punta del Cobre Fm. Purilactis Gp. Quiriquina Fm. Viñita Fm. Way Gp. Zapata Fm. Jurassic Chacarilla Fm. Coihaique Gp. Ibáñez Fm. La Liga Fm. La Negra Fm. Nacientes del Biobío Fm. Nacientes del Teno Fm. Pan de Azúcar Fm. Tobífera Fm. Triassic Canto del Agua Fm. Choiyoi Gp. Panguipulli Fm. Santa Juana Fm. Tralcán Fm. Paleozoic Llano de Chocolate Beds
Batholiths	Coastal central Chile Elqui-Limarí Futrono-Riñihue North Patagonian Panguipulli South Patagonian Vicuña Mackenna
Metamorphic complexes	Bahía Mansa Belén Chañaral Choapa Chonos Cordillera Darwin Eastern Andes Mejillones Puerto Edén Punta de Choros Quebrada del Carrizo Trafún Tierra del Fuego
Faults	Atacama Fault Biobío-Aluminé Fault Cachet Fault Domeyko Fault El Arrayán Fault Futrono Fault Gastre Fault Lanalhue Fault Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Magallanes-Fagnano Fault Mocha-Villarrica Fault Pichilemu Fault Reigolil-Pirihueico Fault San Ramón Fault Valeriano Fault
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v t e Major South American geological features
Tectonic plates	Antarctic Caribbean Cocos Coiba Malpelo Nazca North Andes Scotia South American
Cratons and shields	Amazonian Craton Arequipa-Antofalla Craton Atlantic Shield Central Brazilian Shield Guiana Shield Paranapanema Block Río Apa Craton Río de la Plata Craton São Francisco Craton Uruguayan Shield
Structures undergoing subduction	Antarctic plate Carnegie Ridge Chile Rise Juan Fernández Ridge Malpelo Ridge Nazca plate Nazca Ridge
Faults and shear zones	Atacama Boconó Bucaramanga-Santa Marta Cochabamba Cordillera Blanca Córdoba Dolores-Guayaquil Domeyko Eastern Frontal Gastre Huincul Liquiñe-Ofqui Magallanes-Fagnano Meta Morón Oca-Ancón Pernambuco El Pilar Romeral San Ramón Sarandí del Yí Sierra Ballena Sobral El Tigre Trans-Brazilian
Rifts and grabens	Aguapeí Amazon Rift Asunción Rift Cuyo Rift Espino Neuquén Rifts Paramirim Salta Rifts
Sedimentary basins	Altiplano Amazon Andean foreland Central Brazil Chaco Colorado Cuyo Eastern Venezuela Golfo San Jorge Magallanes Malvinas Neuquén Pantanal Paraíba Paraná Salta Solimões
Orogenies	Andean Brasiliano Cariri Velhos Chonide Famatinian Gondwanide Juruá Pampean San Rafael Sunsás Terra Australis Tilcarian
Metallogenetic provinces	Bolivian Tin Belt Chilean Iron Belt Deseado Massif El Indio Gold Belt El Mutún Iron Quadrangle Lithium Triangle Pampean Pegmatite Province
Volcanism	Volcanic provinces Andean North Central South Austral Caribbean Central Atlantic Paraná and Etendeka Hotspots Ascension Noronha hotspot Galápagos Juan Fernández San Felix Trindade

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• Seismic faults of Chile
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• Geology of Los Ríos Region
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• Geology of Aysén Region
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