Morphotectonic study of a fault tip zone around Qozlu (SE part of the North Tabriz fault)

Fault traces within the Qozlu fault tip zone, located at the southeast end of a segment of the North Tabriz fault, which reaches to the Bozqush deformation zone, represents the formation of a horsetail structure. There is, however, no information about the type of this structure or its deformation pattern. In this regard, study of topography (analysis of the relative elevation difference at two scales—within the overall deformation zone and in buffer zones along streams flowing within the zone), surface slope, asymmetry factor, and geological information indicate that: 1) the fault tip zone is a contractional horsetail splay; 2) a compressional tectonic regime is dominant within the fault tip zone and the trend of maximum compression is N20W-S20E; 3) two different fault zones with maximum and minimum tectonic activities are recognised along two streams within the fault tip zone ; 4) the overall dip-slip component within the stream-related fault zones is reverse or thrust. These results provide significant information about tectonics of the Qozlu fault tip zone and improve our knowledge of deformation within the North Tabriz fault zone. This study, also, demonstrates the importance of using stream longitudinal swath profiles to obtain tectonic information directly from topography.