Slip on an active wedge thrust from geodetic observations of the 8 October 2005 Kashmir earthquake

By combining global positioning system observations of surface displacements and the locations of aftershocks, we infer that the 8 October 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred on multiple fault planes. Mean slip of ∼5.1 m occurred on a rupture between Bagh and Balakot with strike 331° and dip 29°. Additional slip occurred at depth on a NNE-dipping fault plane extending WNW from Balakot, and on an intersecting nearly flat dislocation at ∼5 km depth, forming an active wedge thrust. Both the simple fault plane and the blind wedge accommodate convergence between Peshawar and Leh, Ladakh, accumulating at 7 ± 2 mm/yr, suggesting a 680 ± 150 yr recurrence interval for Kashmir 2005-like events.