The Three Pagodas Fault is a right-lateral displacement

strike-slip fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

between

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

named after the

Three Pagodas Pass Three Pagodas Pass ( Phlone ; , ''Paya Thon Zu Taung Za Lang'', ; , , ) is a pass in the Tenasserim Hills on the border between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), at an elevation of . The pass links the town of Sangkhla Buri in the north of Kanchanab ...

. It developed as a consequence of the collision between the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and the Eurasian Plate. The Three Pagodas Fault Zone (TPFZ) is a roughly 50 km wide zone separating the westernmost range of the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range (, ; , , ; ) is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mo ...

from the

Tenasserim coast Tanintharyi Region (, ; Mon: or ; formerly Tenasserim Division and Tanintharyi Division) is a region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the northern Malay Peninsula, reaching to the Kra Isthmus. It borders th ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. The whole area is marked by a great number of

fault trace A fault trace describes the intersection of a Fault (geology), geological fault with the Earth's surface, which leaves a visible disturbance on the surface, usually looking like a crack in the surface with jagged rock structures protruding outwar ...

s and

homoclinal ridge A homoclinal ridge or strike ridge is a hill or ridge with a moderate, generally between 10° and 30°, sloping backslope. Its backslope is a '' dip slope,'' that conforms with the dip of a resistant stratum or strata, called '' caprock.'' On the ...

s of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The Three Pagodas Fault Zone accommodates the southeastward extrusion of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

, with stresses twisting clockwise. Together with the Wang Chao Fault and the Mae Ping Fault, it runs parallel to the Red River Fault. There is a fear that a future

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

caused by the TPFZ and the Sri Sawat Fault Zone (SSFZ) could damage the large

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s in

Kanchanaburi Province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

in the future and that it could cause widespread damage to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. There was already a severe earthquake in the area about 2,500 years ago.Seismic activities in Kanchanaburi: Past and present
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References

External links

Recent paleoseismic investigations in Northern and Western ThailandQuake risk 'high' in Plains - Bangkok Post 25/12/2010
Seismic faults of Southeast Asia Geology of Myanmar Geology of Thailand Strike-slip faults Tenasserim Hills {{struct-geology-stub