You are on page 1of 12

~-r :'L " " .

j~,

ELSEVIER Geomorphology 11 (1995) 215-226

Landslides triggered by earthquakes and their relations with faults


and mountain slope geometry: an example from Ecuador
Alessandro Tibaldi, Luca Ferrari, Giorgio Pasquar~
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit~ degli Studi di Milano, Milano, 20133, Italy
Received 31 January 1994; revised 10 June 1994; accepted 27 July 1994

Abstract

A large number of landslides occurred during two seismic events (respectively, 6.9 and 6.1 Msw) on 5 March 1987 in the
Ecuadorian Andes. These landslides have been mapped, digitized, and coregistered with topography at 1:50,000 scale. Geometry
of coseismic and Holocene faulting has been assessed integrating field and geophysical data. Landslide distribution and Holocene
tectonic features have been compared with earthquake foci, geological deposits, slope area, inclination and orientation, and
vegetation cover. The macro-seismic field deduced by landslide distribution is ellipse-shaped with the major axis striking NNE
and coinciding with the trend of the coseismic and Holocene faults. Landslide distribution also shows a correlation with respect
to the dip-direction of these faults and the orientation of mountain slopes. Slopes parallel to the coseismic fault planes, sloping
towards WNW, are almost unaffected by landsliding, while this increases on the slopes at high angle to the fault plane and lying
along its strike. If these results could be confirmed in other areas, a method of reconstruction of geometry of seismogenetic faults
from topographic effects appears feasible.

1. Introduction The large-scale slope denudation which occurred on


that day greatly facilitated the field survey and has
allowed us to recognise and map the geometry and
Two seismic events with magnitude of surface waves
kinematics of the Holocene and coseismic main faults.
(Msw) 6.9 and 6.1 took place on 5 March 1987 in the
northeastern part of the Ecuadorian Andes, here known Because the study area is particularly inaccessible, with
as Cordillera Real (CR) (Fig. 1). During that day steep mountains and dense rain forests, the field survey
hundreds of casualties were reported in the area, a num- was integrated with interpretation of aerial stereopho-
ber which is probably underestimated because the peo- tos and radar images. Stereophotos comprise 75 prints
ple are scattered in small rural villages and at 1:80,000 scale, 352 at 1:40,000 scale and 12 at
communications are difficult throughout the region. 1:20,000 scale, covering an area of more than 5000
Many people died suddenly because of extraordinarily km 2. Photos at 1:40,000 scale were taken before and
widespread slope mass movements which affected a after the earthquakes. Radar images were obtained with
very large area. A few hours after these events, several a Synthetic Aperture Radar of CLIRSEN (Centro de
other people lost their lives because of mudflows which Levantamientos Integrados de Recursos Naturales por
swept the main valley floors. These flows were induced Sensores Remotos, Quito) with a Goodyear system.
by the collapse of several temporary natural dams built The band we used is X ( 3.12 cm) and sensor resolution
by the large and high-density landsliding. is 10 meters. Topographical maps have been prepared

0169-555X/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved


SSDIOI69-555X(94)O0060-3
216 A. Tibaldi et aLI Geomotphology I I (1995) 215 226

ited from the last main glacial and post-glacial phases.


/, /-
~" // COLOMBIA These indicators comprise up-facing slope breaks,
marked uneroded scarps resembling "knife-cuts", dis-
location of river channels, gullies, ridges, crests, sub-
~\., glacial erosion surfaces, or moraine deposits. Seven
( main faults with such characteristics have been discov-
/ ered in the eastern Ecuadorian Andes. The C a y a m b e -
< I
Chingual Fault ( C C F in Fig. 2) can be followed for 76
/
km until it reaches the Colombian border. Along the
/ / ' majority of this fault trace, dislocation of river channels
i /
,/ ,[ ~. / and gorges can be measured giving a mean value of
/'
, / i/ 300 m. Taking into account that the dates of the last
// // glacial phases are ! 1,000+ 1000 yr BP for the areas
d , /
! /" > 3800 m, and 27,500_+7500 yr BP for the areas
¢-~ / /
> 3000 m (Clapperton and Vera, 1986), and consid-
? J / cring that the majority of the CCF outcrops between
2700 and 3500 m, its horizontal rate of tectonic motion
PERU " \ .;

Fig. 1. Main morphologicalprovincesof Ecuador and location of the


study area. CP Coastal Plain, CO Cordillera Occidental, IV lnteran-
dean Valley, CR Cordillera Real, SAZ Sub-AudeanZone, AP Ama-
zonian Platform.Smallbox showslocationof Fig. 2, large box locates
Figs. 4 and 5.

for this study on the same scale. Geological data have /I _..
been derived from D G G M (1978), Balseca and Fer-
rafts (1987), INECEL (1988), and Tibaldi (1990), "2. i r
and geophysical data derived from Barberi et al.
(1988).
J ~/'
Coregistration of these data sets permits a precise
L I' Cayambe%~ h, '// fig 10
comparison of landslide distribution with slope area,
inclination and orientation, rock lithology, epicentre ._.p~/~ ~ J ~ , L / %{R~v~.t~do~
distribution, isoseismal patterns, and fault attitude.

2. Holocene faults

2. I. Structural field data

The outstanding feature of the Cordillera Real is a


marked and linear family of faults with an overall trend
of about N30 °. Field surveys show that these faults are .... ~ ~4t~13
near-vertical or have a dominant dip towards W N W ,
whatever their age (Pasquar~ et al., 1991; Tibaldi and • 8° 0 25 50
I km
Ferrari, 1992). Only a few of these faults show Holo-
Fig. 2. Main Holocene faults of the eastern EcuadorianAndes. CCF:
cene tectonic activity.
Cayambe-ChingualFault,LBF La BonitaFault.A, B, and C localities
In the high Andes the typical indicator of Holocene discussed in the text. Boxes are locations of Figs. 6, 10, and 11.
faulting is the dislocation of geomorphic features inher- Location given in Fig. 1.
A. Tibaldi et al. / Geomorphology 11 (1995) 215-226 217

may be estimated as 11.7 ___3.2 mm/yr. Using the offset


of at least 100 m (from aerial stereophotos) of the
Soche lava flow dated at 9670 yr BP (Hall and Beate,
1991) and considering a 10% error of offset and age
determination, the slip rate is approximately 10.5 ___2
mm/yr. The type of faulting is strike-slip right-lateral,
according to tectoglyphs measured on the fault plane
and the sense of fiver dislocation. The same features
were discovered along the La Bonita fault (LBF in Fig.
2). Here the Holocene rate of fault motion is more
uncertain because we found only two sites where dis-
location could be measured.
Southwards, two main Holocene N - S faults were
recognised. At site A in Fig. 2, an escarpment facing
westward is outlined by dislocated glacial morphology
revealing a relative upward motion of the eastern block.
Topographic data indicate along this segment a total
amount of vertical dislocation of about 30 m (a rate of
2.7 + 0.2 m m / y r ) . The fault labelled B in Fig. 2 has an
opposite dip with a vertical component of motion of
the same order of magnitude.
A fault segment which probably moved during the
March 1987 earthquake (C in Fig. 2) has been recog-
nised by an abrupt, fresh cut in the mountain slope
which creates an up-hill facing escarpment. The escarp-
Fig. 3. Possible precursorydeformations which were observedsome
ment strikes NNE and the western block is up-raised.
months before the 5 March 1987 earthquakes consisting in a few
These observations coincide with some possible pre- centimeters net dislocations of small erosional grooves in bedrock
cursory deformations which were observed some stream channels. Fault traces strike NNE and show reverse right-
months before the March 1987 earthquake. These lateral dislocations with up-raising of the western block. North is on
deformations consisted of a few centimetres net dislo- the upper side of the picture ( Photo by G. Pasquar~).
cation of small erosional grooves in bedrock stream
channels (Fig. 3). Fault traces strike NNE and show
reverse fight-lateral dislocations with up-raising of the spread seismic activity comprising 7 large earthquakes
western block. (estimated intensity of Mercalli scale > IX) occurred
Another 20 minor Holocene faults have been dis- inside and near the study area mostly along a belt run-
covered (Fig. 2). Field surveys confirmed that practi- ning NNE (Fig. 4, OAQ, 1959). The focus of the two
cally all the detected fault escarpments were due to large events of 5 March 1987 (b and c in Fig. 4) lie at
strike-slip or reverse faulting or a combination of the a d e p t h o f 14km (Msw = 6 . 1 ) and 10km (Msw = 6.9),
two components of motions. Dip of minor fault planes while their epicentres show a N N E - S S W alignment,
is also mostly towards W N W or W. coincident with the orientation of the Holocene faults
recognised in the field. A similar alignment is shown
2.2. G e o p h y s i c a l d a t a by the microseismicity recorded during the periods Jan-
uary-April 1981 (1 in Fig. 4) and December 1986-
Epicentres of 93 shallow earthquakes extracted from March 1987 (2 and 3 in Fig. 4) (Barberi et al., 1988).
the CERESIS (1986), OAQ ( 1981 ) and National Oce- Also the isoseismal pattern of the 1987 earthquake
anic Atmospheric Administration catalogues for the shows an elliptical shape with a major axis striking
years 1903-1987 AD were also coregistered, as well NNE (Fig. 5). The focal mechanisms of some of these
as isoseismal pattems (Barberi et al., 1988). Wide- events are shown in Fig. 4. The events of 5 March, 1987
218 A. Tibaldi et al. / Geomorphology 11 f 1995) 215-226

\
\

/
/,
/

,) /
/
/S f
/ iv )
CO J
/ j t o

)
OR / "''/f~'
/ j/
l
/ J"
/ /"
/
/
\,
/ ,,i /
QUITO
SAZ
/
/

/
X o /'z "1i
/ / i
X /~ °
/ o
/'
i

"f °C 'ltt:- :<,<]


2

ol°

l /
79° 774 77 °
Fig. 4. Epicentre distribution map of period 1903-1987. Numbers I, 2 and 3 refer to microseismicity analyses discussed in the text. Letters refer
to focal mechanisms: b and c after Barberi et al. ( 19881, e after Woodward and Clyde ( 19811, Schmidt projection, lower hemisphere; black
arrows show the horizontal direction of the P-axis. CO Cordillera Occidental, 1V lnterandean Valley, CR Cordillera Real, SAZ Sub-Andean
Zone. Box shows location of Fig. 8. Location given in Fig. 1.

(USGS, 1987) show a dominant thrust motion with a T axes trending E - W and vertical respectively. The
right-lateral strike-slip component (b and c in Fig. 4) fault dip is westward. The event of 5 August, 1949
along a W dipping fault. Centroid Moment Tensor solu- (Woodward and Clyde, 1981 ) (e in Fig. 4) shows an
tions for the same events (Dziewonski et al., 1988) almost pure transcurrent motion along a NE striking
show nearly pure thrust motions but very similar P and plane with a northwestward high angle dip.
A, Tibaldi et al. / Geomorphology I I (1995) 215-226 219

/
/ \

/ / ~-___~,~-~,_~,,-.-.-...-...~.,

o i/ /,

/
/

! //
30Kin
. ,,o o lo 2o
-- l I i I

\ ,
Fig. 5. Isoseismic map of the 5 March, 1987 earthquakes (after Barberi et al., 1988). The degree of intensity is indicated for each line. Black
boxes represent the two main shock epicenters with magnitude (Msw). The smaller sinuous lines are three isolines encircling areas of landslide
different density ( 1-39%, 40-59% and 60-100%). Location given in Fig. 1.
3. L a n d s l i d e s a n d t o p o g r a p h y major active faults and are strictly linked to the fault
traces (e.g. in Fig. 6). This distribution is consistent
In the study area several small landslides of rock fall with the presence of active tectonic motions along the
and soil slide type are located along already k n o w n
220 A. Tibaldi et al. / Geon oq~holog v 11 (1995) 215-226

faults which create dislocations in rock walls. Exhu-


,,,.. ...... v ..... i
mation of steep surfaces coinciding with the fault plane
creates the conditions for the occurrence of rock falls.
For example, the rock fall deposit A in Fig. 6 is due to
right-lateral strike-slip sllifting of the southern lava
--~ .. 17 ."Tv /e, !
block which is no longer supported by the former
adjoining northern lava block. Different degrees of veg-
etation colonisation on the various landslide deposits
mark various collapse episodes repeated through time.
In order to distinguish between these landslides and
those produced by the 5 March 1987 seismic events,
all the area was studied on pre- and post-earthquake
photo series. The March landslides are also easily iden-
tified on the photos because of the high difference in
reflectance between the exhumed rock and the sur-
rounding jungle.
Several thousands of landslides affected an area of
about 2000 km 2, depicting a catastrophic scenario. The
presence of such a large number of collapses may be
referred to a series of contemporaneous causes. First of
all, a particularly intense rainfall regime affected the
i 5 Z;/i,~ '- ...... ; L area in the four weeks preceding the earthquakes. The
precipitation during February 1987 was heavy, with a
value of 600 mm, which probably induced soil satura-
tion. Such a value is about twice the average monthly
precipitation recorded in the area during the years
1975-1984 (Fig. 7). Other causes which could have
contributed to the exceptional phenomenon are: the
relatively large seismic magnitude of the two events
which occurred within a short time interval, the abun-

]
6004 t ~OO-(4:~ !,;38Z~
/

1975 84
1
j ~

~-- 2004 --

Fig. 6. Landslides, dragging effects on tributaries, and geomorphic 100~ . . . . . ]


and geological indicators of Holocene motions along the Cayambe-
Chingual Fault. Note that distortion of the hydrographic pattern is oi
consistent with the right-lateral strike-slip motions detected on the J F M A M J J A S O N D

fault plane tectoglyphs. 1 Latest Pleistocene-Holocene lava flow: 2 Fig. 7. Average monthly precipitation recorded at two stations within
fault trace; 3 triangular facets; 4 landslide scarp; 5 major landslide the study area (San Raphael for 1975-1984, full triangles, and Rio
scree-tongue. "A" is a site discussed in the text. Location given in Salado for 1977-1984, open squares). The unusual precipitation of
Fig. 2. February 1987 is indicated.
CI.

Ct
0 e~
t~

¢b

~f ©

~ 0
¢o

to

to
o~

Fig. 8. Isolines of the percentage of slid area measured with grid cells of 1 sq. km (0, 1, 4, 7, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100%). Areas encircled by dashed lines and marked C L are cloud
covered. The black dot is the summit vent of Reventador volcano. Location given in Fig. 4.

to
to
222 ,4. Tibaldi et al / G e o m o r p h o l o g y / I ~ 199,5) 2 1 5 - 2 2 6

dance of pyroclastic deposits, the high degree of rock tion is similar to the 1960 Chile earthquake which was
fracturation and the high average slope steepness. accompanied by thousands of disrupted soil slides,
Sliding usually started from the uppermost part of though they were restricted to deforested slopes
the mountain slope reaching the portion of the valley ( Wright and Mella, 1963 ).
floor occupied by the river channel. The denuded area The limit of each landslide was digitized and the
is strongly elongate with an aspect ratio ( length/width: affected area was calculated, using a grid cell of 1 km 2
l/w) mostly between 3 and 5. The average volume of ( Fig. 8). The isolines, expressing percentage slid area
these landslides is about 60 X 103 ms. Larger landslides in respect to the cell area, are incomplete in the north-
were also able to cross the widest valley floors reaching western part of Fig. 8 because post-earthquake photos
the opposite valley side. These landslides show an aver- were not available there. Analysis of Landsat images
age l/w = 2.5, and an average volume of about 2 x l ()" of late 1987 shows that landslide frequency rapidly
m 3" decreases in that direction (Fig. 5). The resulting iso-
Three main types of landslide deposits have been line map defines an elliptic-shaped zone with a NNE
recognised. One is composed of a fine matrix, with trending major axis. The coseismic landslides are
granulometric fractions of clay, silt and sand, support- observable along the NNE axis for about 70 km. Such
ing angular clasts and boulders up to several metres in a length is comparable with the fault rupture length
diameter. The collapse surface is planar or gently expected from the magnitude of the events according
curved. This type corresponds to the collapse of soil to the curves by Slemmons (1977). Also the size of
covering, talus, and bed-rock and should coincide with the area affected by landslides (2 000 km 2) is consis-
the rock slide type of Keefer (1984). A second type is tent with the earthquake magnitude, when compared
made of clay, silt and sand, coming from the collapse with data by Keefer (1984), which report a range from
of soil sheets one to a few metres thick. These features 0 km 2 in a M = 4 earthquake to 500,000 km 2 in a
correspond to disrupted soil slides and present basal M = 9.2 earthquake.
shear surfaces mostly formed at soil-bedrock contact. In more detail, the limit of the area unaffected by
A third type is only made up of angular clasts and landslides is asymmetric, with a rectilinear SE bound-
boulders corresponding to rock fall. Disrupted soil ary and a more complicated opposite side. The shape
slides are the most represented type, having been favou- of the latter, which can be better appreciated in Fig. 5,
red by the widespread presence of pyroclastic fall is given by a segmented line trending N-S in the west-
deposits resting on bedrock or on paleosols, and ern zone and NE in the northwestern zone. The area
induced by several phases of explosive volcanism in affected by a landsliding percentage lower than 10
the surrounding volcanic centres (Fig. 2). This situa- shows a regular pattern following the 0 isoline (Fig.
8). The areas included within the isoline 10 tend to
widen symmetrically in correspondence with the cen-
tral zone depicting a NNE elongated symmetric ellipse.
I0
With the exception of the largest landslides involv-
F- 8 ing bed-rock, which are less sensitive to surface char-
z acteristics, landslide distribution data have been
compared with topography and geology in order to
"7 ascertain what really determines the isoline shape. The
4 ,7 results indicate that the isoline shape is principally the
z<
expression of the seismic shake from the following
arguments: (a) in the study area, variations of slope
3
above an inclination of 20-30 ° did not influence the
0 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360 landslide distribution, (b) the average slope steepness
SLOPEORIENTATION
of the collapsed area is almost equal to the contermi-
Fig. 9. H i s t o g r a m representing the percentage of landslided area ( left
y-axis) for each slope orientation (x-axis expressed as slope dip
nous zones and higher than 20 ° except towards the east
azimuth ). The segmented line gives the percentage of area ( right y- where there is a gradual transition to the Amazon Plat-
axis) for a given slope orientation in respect to the total study area. form, (c) the majority of the isolines cross the geolog-
A. Tibaldi et al. / Geomorphology 11 (1995) 215-226 223

Fig. 10. Aerial photo showing different spatial frequency of landslides on mountain slopes with different orientations. Large side of picture is
about 8 km (photogram N, 24099 R-128, authorization n. 930634-IGM-d 3459). Location given in Fig. 2.
224 A. Tibaldi et al. / Geomorphology I l t1995 ) 215-226

Fig. 11. Aerial photo showing a lava flow of the Cayambe volcano affected by maximum landslide density along the slope facing toward ESE
and minimum density along the slope facing in the opposite direction. Large side of picture is about 8 km (photogram N. 24206 R-129.
authorization n. 930634-IGM-d 3459). Location given in Fig. 2.
A. Tibaldi et al. /Geomorphology 11 (1995) 215-226 225

ical boundaries showing them to be independent of the ESE and WNW, but with the same inclination and
rheological characteristics of rocks (compare Fig. 8 lithological characteristics (a lava flow from the Cay-
with DGGM, 1978, or with fig. 2 of Pasquar~ et al., ambe volcano), display maximum and minimum land-
1991 ). Only the eastern part of the central area affected slide density respectively.
by the maximum percentage of landsliding would have
been influenced by the local presence of particularly
thick (tens of meters) pyroclastic deposits lying on the 4. Conclusions
flanks of the Reventador volcano (Fig. 8). The land-
slide density rises here by about 30-M0%. The presence The total field of landslides produced during the 5
of the Reventador volcano produced a local anomaly March 1987 earthquakes has been mapped and shows
but did not affect the general tendency of increase of an elliptical shape with a strong NNE elongation. This
landslide density in this central zone; this increase is elongation is largely independent of geological limits
already present all around the volcano base where pyro- and vegetation cover, while the abrupt rectilinear SE
clastic deposit thickness is usually a few metres. A local boundary of landslide density isolines could have been
increase (by about 20%) in landslide density has been influenced by the high slope gradient of this area.
noted at the passage between intrusive and metamor- The elliptical zone has a good correlation with the
phic bedrock with no pyroclastic cover. location and strike of the fault segments which moved
The rectilinear SE boundary given by isolines 0, 1, during the earthquake and with the general geometry
and 4 which trend NE, corresponds both to a NE strik- of the Holocene faults. The zone of maximum landslide
ing rectilinear fault and to the highest average slope density is very close to the epicentres of the two seismic
decrease of the study area. The zone located to the SE events.
of this boundary, structurally known as Napo Uplift, is At a closer look, landslides preferentially occurred
mostly flat with slopes ranging between 0 ° and 6 °. Some on mountain slopes facing towards ESE. Landslide
valleys with various orientations dissect this territory density decreases along the slopes facing in the other
and are characterised by slope inclinations between 15° directions to the minimum value on slopes facing
and 80°. A few small landslides have been reported towards WNW. This result was weighted by compu-
along these valley flanks. tation of the areas of slopes with different orientations
Another type of comparison of landslide distribution and was compared with lithology and geological struc-
with topography, in the sense of slope orientation and ture showing a clear independence from these factors.
inclination, shows that the landslide density is maxi- WNW dipping slopes are parallel or sub-parallel to the
mum along the slopes facing towards ESE (25-35% dominant fault planes of this area of the Ecuadorian
Fig. 9; e.g. in Fig. 10), is lower along slopes facing in Andes. Having established the contemporaneity
the other directions, and reaches a minimum value between these landslides and the two seismic events of
along mountain slopes facing towards WNW. This 5 March 1987, we would expect a correlation between
result was weighted by computing the percentage of earthquake ground motions, geometry of slope failures
area for the various slope orientations showing a non- and seismogenetic faults. When seismic energy prop-
significant result only for the orientation sector 100°- agated from the shallow focus of the two events, seis-
120 ° (Fig. 9). Vegetation influence should be minimal mic waves crossed the surface with different incidence
because field observations do not suggest variation in angles mostly depending on topography. Evidently
density or type of vegetation on slopes with different there was some amplification of the ground response
orientations for a given altimetric zone. Also, geolog- when the slope is perpendicular or sub-perpendicular
ical influence should be minimal because the same pref- to the seismogenetic fault plane and lies along its strike,
erential landslide distribution characterizes zones of whereas maximum attenuation occurred on slopes par-
different lithology and rock geometry. For example, allel or sub-parallel to the seismic fault plane.
the area shown in Fig. 10 is on sedimentary rock, while These intriguing results, deduced from landslide dis-
the area in Fig. 11 is on intrusive and extrusive igneous tribution and field studies, could represent a topic of
rocks and on metamorphic rocks. In particular in Fig. further multidisciplinary investigations and for micro-
11 two slopes facing in opposite directions towards zonation purposes. To our knowledge, a preferred dis-
226 A. 7ibaldi et al. / Geomorphology 11 (1995) 215-226

t r i b u t i o n o f e a r t h q u a k e - i n d u c e d landslides with respect Dziewonski. A.M., EkstrOm, G., Woodhouse, J.H. and Zwart, G.,
to hillslope o r i e n t a t i o n h a s b e e n r e p o r t e d only by 1988, Centroid moment tensor solutions for January-March,
1987. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 50:116-126.
P e a r c e a n d O ' L o u g h l i n ( 1 9 8 5 ) for the m a s s m o v e -
Hall, LM. and Beate, B., 1991. El volcanismo plio-quatemario en
m e n t s w h i c h o c c u r r e d d u r i n g the 1929 M = 7.7 earth- las Andes del Ecuador. Est. Geogr. Quito, 4: 5-17.
q u a k e in n o r t h w e s t e r n S o u t h Island, N e w Z e a l a n d . Henderson, J., 1937. The West Nelson earthquakes of 1929. N. Z. J.
C o s e i s m i c fault g e o m e t r y ( H e n d e r s o n , 1937) does not Sci. Technol., XIX(2): 65-144.
s u g g e s t the s a m e linking w i t h l a n d s l i d e d i s t r i b u t i o n as INECEL (lnsfituto Ecuadoriano de Electrification), 1988. Estudio
Vulcanologico de '~EI Reventador". Ministerio de Energia y
in the p r e s e n t paper. F u r t h e r studies in o t h e r areas
Minas, Quito, Ecuador, 117 pp.
s h o u l d b e e n c o u r a g e d , in o r d e r to assess the potential Keefer, D.K., 1984. Landslides caused by earthquakes. Geol. Soc.
o f r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f g e o m e t r y o f s e i s m o g e n e t i c faults Am. Bull., 95: 406~421.
f r o m the t o p o g r a p h i c effects o f e a r t h q u a k e s . OAQ (Observatorio Astronomico de Quito), 1959. Breve historia
de los principales terremotos de la Republica del Ecuador. Pub-
licacion del Comit~ del Ano Geofisico lnternacional de Ecuador,
Acknowledgements Quito, Ecuador.
OAQ I Observatorio Astronomico de Quito 1, 198 I. Catalogo de Sis-
mos del Ecuador, 1900-1980. Quito, Ecuador.
W e are i n d e b t e d to A. C a v a l l i n for c o - o p e r a t i o n in
Pasquarb, G., Tibaldi, A. and Ferrari, L., 1991. Relationships
s o m e o f the c o m p u t e r elaborations. W e a c k n o w l e d g e between plate convergence and tectonic evolution of the Ecu-
m a n y s u g g e s t i o n s o n an early v e r s i o n o f the m a n u s c r i p t adorian active Thrust Belt. In: S.S. Augustfiitis (Editor), Critical
b y A. C a n c e l l i a n d t w o a n o n y m o u s referees, and Aspects of Plate Tectonic Theory. Theophrastus Publications,
i m p r o v e m e n t s to the E n g l i s h style b y A . M . H a r v e y . All Athens, pp. 365-388.
the authors are grateful to E L C - E l e c t r o c o n s u l t for Pearce, A.J. and O'Loughlin, C.L., 1985. Landsliding during a M
7.7 earthquake: Influence of geology and topography. Geology,
logistical support. A.T. benefitted f r o m a Ph.D. grant
13: 855-858.
by M i n i s t e r o Italiano della P u b b l i c a I s t r u z i o n e a n d a Slemmons, D.B., 1977. Faults and earthquake magnitude. U.S. Army
f e l l o w s h i p b y Istituto N a z i o n a l e di G e o f i s i c a - G r u p p o Congr. of Engineers, Waterways Experimental Stations. Miscel-
N a z i o n a l e p e r la V u i c a n o l o g i a . laneous Papers S 73-1, Reprint 6:1-129.
Tibaldi, A., 1990. Transcurrent tectonics and anomalous volcanic
arcs: Analysis of some key areas in Ecuador and Mexico. Ph.D.
References Thesis, Universitb.degli Studi di Milano, Italia, 195 pp. ( in Italian
with an English abstr. I.
Balseca, W. and Ferraris, M., 1987. lnfornles geologico sobre el Tibaldi, A. and Ferrari, L., 1992. Latest Pleistocene-Holocene tec-
volchn Reventador. Tech. Repts. Coca-Codo Sinclair Proj.. INE- tonics of the Ecuadorian Andes. Tectonophysics, 205: 109-125.
CEL, Quito, Ecuador, 85 pp. USGS ( United States Geological Survey), 1987. Preliminary deter-
Barberi, F., Belloni, L., Ferrari, L., Pasquar~, G., Previtali, F.. Tibaldi. ruination of epicenters (PDE). Monthly listing, March 1987.
A. and Zonno, G., 1988. Riesgo Sismico. Tech. Rep. Coca-Codo U.S. Dept. of the Interior.
Sinclair Project, Quito, Ecuador, 294 pp. Woodward and Clyde Consultant, San Francisco, Cal., USA, 1981.
CERESIS, 1986. Catalogo de terremotos para America del Sur. Datos lnvestigaciones para los estudios del riesgo sismico del sitio de
de hipocentros y intensidades. la presa Agoyan. Technical Report for the Agoyan Dam Project,
Clapperton, C.M. and Vera, R., 1986. The Quaternary glacial lnstituto Ecuadoriano de Electrification (INECEL), Quito, Ecua-
sequence in Ecuador: a reinterpretation of the work of Walter dor.
Sauer. J. Quat. Sci., 1: 45-56. Wright, C. and Mella, A., 1963. Modifications to the soil pattern of
DGGM (Direccion General de Geologia y Minas), 1978. Mapas south-central Chile resulting from seismic and associated phe-
Geologicas de Ecuador, escala 1: 100,000. N. 68-82, Quito, Ecua- nomena during the period May to August 1960. Seismol. Soc.
dor. Am. Bull., 53(6): 1367-1402.

You might also like