MORPHOTECTONIC FEATURES IN TABAS PLAIN

   General:
     The Shotori mountain range at northern end of the Nayband active fault is one of the east central Iranian ranges in east of Tabas city and playa. Old alluvial cyclic stream terraces, buried Quaternary fault scarps, and naked floor river gorges are some of the evident morphotectonic features in different parts of the mountain western front area. The manifest morphotectonic features in the Tabas plain are outcropped Neogene gentle anticlines, Quaternary reverse faults, joint controlled erosion, erosional terraces, antecedent river gorges, and three kind of old, braided, and active alluvial fans.
These features all point to mountain neotectonic uplift, westward migration of Quaternary alluvial sedimentation, eastward movement of retrograde erosion along seasonal rivers, and recent periodic uplift of the plain with respect to the playa. The close relationship between the morphotectonic features and Quaternary faulting of the 1978’s earthquake, considering presence of ancient perched caves and qanats in valley scarps, emphasize the role of such studies in recognition of active tectonic areas and completing the seismic history without having sufficient reported seismic data.
Tectonic Group of Geological Survey of Iran,