On the Seismicity of the Arid Zone in the Northeastern Caucasus

Abstract

The relationship between the distribution of strong earthquake foci and arid zones in the territory of the northeastern Caucasus is studied for the first time. The northern part of the arid zone located on the Scythian–Turanian platform is characterized by aseismicity; earthquakes occur to the south of the arid zone boundary. A narrow part of the coastal arid zone coincides with the position of the Sredinnyi and Pribrezhnyi deep faults, the tectonic activity of which is characterized by the origination of strong earthquake sources.