List of fracture zones

Fracture zones are common features in the geology of oceanic basins. Globally most fault zones are located on divergent plate boundaries on oceanic crust. This means that they are located around mid-ocean ridges and trend perpendicular to them. The term fracture zone is used almost exclusively for features on oceanic crust; similar structures on continental crust are instead termed transform or strike slip faults, a denomination active fracture zones also can have. Not all named fracture zones are active, but can be significant ocean floor features due to past tectonic processes. Some fracture zones have been created by mid-ocean ridge segments that have been subducted and may not longer exist.

Major fractures zones of the Atlantic can be seen on this ocean depth map

Pacific Ocean

Major Pacific trenches (1–10) and fracture zones (11–20): 1. Kermadec 2. Tonga 3. Bougainville 4. Mariana 5. Izu–Ogasawara 6. Japan 7. Kuril–Kamchatka 8. Aleutian 9. Middle America 10. Peru–Chile 11. Mendocino 12. Murray 13. Molokai 14. Clarion 15. Clipperton 16. Challenger 17. Eltanin 18. Udintsev 19. East Pacific Rise (S-shaped) 20. Nazca Ridge

Most fracture zones in the Pacific Ocean originate from large mid-ocean ridges (also called "rises") such as the East Pacific Rise, Chile Rise and Juan de Fuca Ridge. The plates that host the fractures are Nazca, Pacific, Antarctic, Juan de Fuca and Cocos among others. Fracture zones being subducted under Southern and Central America are generally southwest-northeast oriented reflecting the relative motion of Cocos, Nazca and the Antarctic Plates.

Chile Rise

The fracture zones of the Chile Rise trend in a west to east fashion with the most southern ones taking a slightly more southwest to northeast orientation. This non-perpendicular relation to Chile's coast reflects the oblique subduction of Nazca Plate under southern Chile. West of Chile rise the fracture zones are hosted in the Antarctic Plate. Some fracture zones such as Chile and Valdivia make up large sections of the Nazca-Antarctic Plate boundary.

Map of the Chile Rise and its fracture zones in Nazca and the Antarctic Plates

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform boundary in km	Position at Ridge
Chile Fracture Zone	2,250 (1,400)	1,100 (680)	35°32′24″S 104°37′3″W
Chiloé Fracture Zone	1,750 (1,090)	50 (30)	42°59′43″S 83°11′5″W
Darwin Fracture Zone		50 (30)	45°54′29″S 76°25′31″W
Desolación Fracture Zone		0
Esmeralda Fracture Zone		0	49°06′47″S 80°12′33″W
Guafo Fracture Zone	1,550 (960)	280 (170)	44°47′55″S 80°15′53″W
Guambin Fracture Zone	1,300 (810)	70 (40)	45°44′7″S 77°27′32″W
Madre de Dios Fracture Zone		0
Mocha Fracture Zone	450 (280)	0	39°14′24″S 77°22′59″W
Taitao Fracture Zone		0
Tres Montes Fracture Zone		0
Valdivia Fracture Zone	2,100 (1,300)	650 (400)	41°23′25″S 87°23′36″W

East Pacific Rise

Name	Length as plate boundary in km	Coordinates
Easter Fracture Zone
Mendaña Fracture Zone	0
Nazca Fracture Zone	0	19°49′28″S 77°35′53″W
Quiros Fracture Zone	0

Galapagos Rise

Panama Fracture Zone

West of East Pacific Rise and Gulf of California Rift Zone

(some are inactive)[1]

Challenger Fracture Zone
Austral Fracture Zone[1]
Marquesas Fracture Zone[1]
Galapagos Fracture Zone[1]
Clipperton Fracture Zone[1]
Clarion Fracture Zone[1]

Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges

Surveyor, Molokai, Pioneer and Murray fracture zones shown in the list were created by ridge segments that no longer exist.[1]

A map of the Juan de Fuca Plate

Blanco Fracture Zone
Surveyor Fracture Zone[1]
Mendocino Fracture Zone[1]
Pioneer Fracture Zone[1]
Murray Fracture Zone[1]
Molokai Fracture Zone[1]
Sovanco Fracture Zone

Atlantic Ocean

In the Atlantic Ocean most fracture zones originate from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs from north to south, and are therefore west to east oriented in general. There are about 300 fracture zones, with an average north-south separation of 55 kilometres (34 mi):[2] two for each degree of latitude. Physically it makes sense to group Atlantic fracture zones into three categories:[3]

Small offset: length of transform fault less than 30 kilometres (19 mi)
Medium offset: offset over 30 kilometers
Large offset: offset several hundreds of kilometers

Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Northern Hemisphere)

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform fault in km	Position at Ridge
Saint Paul Fracture Zone[4]	1451	454	0.661°N 27.931°W / 0.661; -27.931
Saint Peter Fracture Zone[4]	333	40	2.532°N 31.008°W / 2.532; -31.008
Strakhov Fracture Zone[4] (formerly:Four North[5])	1814	100	3.933°N 32.116°W / 3.933; -32.116
Sierra Leone Fracture Zone[4]	1111	52	6.230°N 33.588°W / 6.230; -33.588
Bogdanov Fracture Zone[4]	173	84	7.135°N 34.351°W / 7.135; -34.351
Vernadsky Fracture Zone[4]	194	107	7.693°N 37.483°W / 7.693; -37.483
Doldrums Fracture Zone[4]	381	144	8.119°N 38.750°W / 8.119; -38.750
Arkhangelskiy Fracture Zone[4]	691	99	8.855°N 39.938°W / 8.855; -39.938
Vema Fracture Zone[4]	822	300	10.726°N 42.333°W / 10.726; -42.333
Mercurius[6]		39	12.132°N 43.924°W / 12.132; -43.924
Marathon Fracture Zone[6]		78	12.611°N 44.430°W / 12.611; -44.430
Fifteen Twenty Fracture Zone, also known as Barracuda or Cabo Verde[4]	1195	195[6]	15.320°N 45.871°W / 15.320; -45.871
Vidal Fracture Zone[3]		50	17.832°N 46.589°W / 17.832; -46.589
Luymes South Fracture Zone[3]		30	18.541°N 46.465°W / 18.541; -46.465
Luymes North Fracture Zone[3]		24	18.967°N 46.128°W / 18.967; -46.128
Snellius Fracture Zone[3]		41	20.616°N 45.756°W / 20.616; -45.756
Kane Fracture Zone[4]	1040	150[7]	23.718°N 45.583°W / 23.718; -45.583
Northern Fracture Zone[3]	1040	9	25.689°N 45.193°W / 25.689; -45.193
Tyro Fracture Zone[3]		15	29.365°N 43.007°W / 29.365; -43.007
Atlantis Fracture Zone[4]	843	66	30.068°N 42.372°W / 30.068; -42.372
Cruiser Fracture Zone[3]		9	32.323°N 40.195°W / 32.323; -40.195
Charis Fracture Zone[3]		13	33.059°N 39.628°W / 33.059; -39.628
Hayes Fracture Zone[4]	624	151	33.615°N 38.439°W / 33.615; -38.439
Oceanographer Fracture Zone[4]	751	148	35.149°N 35.562°W / 35.149; -35.562
Tydeman Fracture Zone		21	36.641°N 33.464°W / 36.641; -33.464
Pico Fracture Zone (to the west)[3][4]	719	67	37.468°N 31.899°W / 37.468; -31.899
East Azores Fracture Zone (to the east)[3][4]	758	67	37.468°N 31.899°W / 37.468; -31.899
Kurchatov Fracture Zone[4]	174	20	40.537°N 29.456°W / 40.537; -29.456
Petrov Fracture Zone[4]	74	9	40.537°N 29.456°W / 40.537; -29.456
Maxwell Fracture Zone[4]		21	47.636°N 27.527°W / 47.636; -27.527
Faraday Fracture Zone[4]	506	23	49.711°N 28.636°W / 49.711; -28.636
Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone[4]	2000	350[3]	52.624°N 33.198°W / 52.624; -33.198
Bight Fracture Zone[4]	336	23	56.721°N 33.792°W / 56.721; -33.792
Jan Mayen Fracture Zone[4]	374	211	71.372°N 9.405°E / 71.372; 9.405
Greenland Fracture Zone (to the west)[8]	0	365	74.04°N 8.82°E / 74.04; 8.82
Senja Fracture Zone (to the east)[8]	0	398	74.04°N 8.82°E / 74.04; 8.82

Fracture zones involved in the early opening of the North Atlantic

American side	African side
Hudson Fracture Zone
Snorri Fracture Zone
Cartwright Fracture Zone
Julian Haab Fracture Zone
Minna Fracture Zone
Leif Fracture Zone
Newfoundland Fracture Zone[9]
Kelvin Fracture Zone[10]	Canary Fracture Zone[10]
Cape Fear Fracture Zone[10]	Cape Verde Fracture Zone[10]
Bahama Fracture Zone[10]	Guinea Fracture Zone[10]

Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Southern Hemisphere)

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform fault in km	Position at Ridge
Romanche Fracture Zone[4]	2445	950	0.49°S 20.49°W / -0.49; -20.49
Chain Fracture Zone[4]	1315	269	1.213°S 14.229°W / -1.213; -14.229
Ascension Fracture Zone[4]	1149	264	6.928°S 12.283°W / -6.928; -12.283
Bode Verde Fracture Zone[4]	3018	232	11.686°S 13.936°W / -11.686; -13.936
Cardno Fracture Zone[4]	1649	87	14.076°S 14.056°W / -14.076; -14.056
Tetyaev Fracture Zone[4]	810	122	16.271°S 13.719°W / -16.271; -13.719
Saint Helena Fracture Zone[4]	1184	19	16.617°S 14.344°W / -16.617; -14.344
Hotspur Fracture Zone[4]	1446	113	17.721°S 13.329°W / -17.721; -13.329
Martin Vaz Fracture Zone[4]	1324	26	18.594°S 12.633°W / -18.594; -12.633
Rio Grande Fracture Zone[4]	1774	156	29.081°S 13.067°W / -29.081; -13.067
Tristan Da Cunha Fracture Zone[4]	1014	26	38.388°S 16.796°W / -38.388; -16.796
Gough Fracture Zone[4]	1057	42	40.637°S 16.637°W / -40.637; -16.637
Conrad Fracture Zone (to the west)[4]	316	0	55.185°S 0.133°W / -55.185; -0.133
Bouvet Fracture Zone (to the east)[4]	198	0	55.185°S 0.133°W / -55.185; -0.133

Indian Ocean

Diamantina Fracture Zone

Southwest Indian Ridge

Bouvet Fracture Zone
Moshesh Fracture Zone
Islas Orcadas Fracture Zone
Shaka Fracture Zone
Dutoit Fracture Zone
Prince Edward Fracture Zone
Discovery II Fracture Zone
Indomed Fracture Zone
Gallieni Fracture Zone
Atlantis II Fracture Zone[11]
Novara Fracture Zone[11]
Melville Fracture Zone[11]

Carlsberg Ridge

Owen Fracture Zone

Central Indian Ridge

Mauritius Fault Zone

Lakshadweep-Chagos Ridge

Vishnu Fault Zone

Southern Ocean

References

Kruse, SE; McCarthy, MC; Brudzinski, MR; Ranieri, ME (10 June 1996). "Evolution and strength of Pacific fracture zones". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 101 (B6): 13731–40. doi:10.1029/96JB00645.
Gilman, Larry; Lerner, K. Lee. "Mid-Ocean-Ridges". Water Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
Müller, R. Dietmar; Roest, Walter R. (1992). "Fracture Zones in the North Atlantic from Combined Geosat and Seasat Data" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 97 (B3): 3337–50. Bibcode:1992JGR....97.3337M. doi:10.1029/91JB02605. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
Name from GEBCO gazetteer, position refined by means of etopo2 and sample data of GPlates
Udintsev, G.B. (1996). "Equatorial Segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge". Unesco. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
Roest, W. R.; Collette, B. J. (1986). "The Fifteen Twenty Fracture Zone and the North American – South American plate boundary". Journal of the Geological Society. 143 (5): 833–43. Bibcode:1986JGSoc.143..833R. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.143.5.0833. S2CID 128413673.
Tucholke, Brian E.; Schouten, Hans (1988-03-01). "Kane Fracture Zone". Marine Geophysical Research. 10 (1–2): 1–39. Bibcode:1988MarGR..10....1T. doi:10.1007/BF02424659. S2CID 129456202.
"Map with Jan Mayen, Greenland and Senja Fracture Zones". Ocean Drilling Project. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
Auzende, J.M.; Olivet, J.L.; Bonnin, J. (1970). "Marge du Grand Bank et la fracture de Terre-Neuve". Compt. Rend. (in French). 271: 1063–66.
Le Pichon, Xavier; Fox, Paul J. (1971-09-10). "Marginal Offsets, Fracture Zones, and the Early Opening of the North Atlantic". Journal of Geophysical Research. 76 (26): 6294–308. Bibcode:1971JGR....76.6294L. doi:10.1029/JB076i026p06294.
Patriat, P., Sauter, D., Munschy, M., & Parson, L. (1997). A survey of the Southwest Indian Ridge axis between Atlantis II Fracture Zone and the Indian Ocean Triple Junction: Regional setting and large scale segmentation. Marine Geophysical Researches, 19(6), 457–80.

Sources

The Global Seafloor Fabric and Magnetic Lineation Data Base Project

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[Kruse1996-1] Kruse, SE; McCarthy, MC; Brudzinski, MR; Ranieri, ME (10 June 1996). "Evolution and strength of Pacific fracture zones". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 101 (B6): 13731–40. doi:10.1029/96JB00645.

[2] Gilman, Larry; Lerner, K. Lee. "Mid-Ocean-Ridges". Water Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-11-29.

[dietmarwalter-3] Müller, R. Dietmar; Roest, Walter R. (1992). "Fracture Zones in the North Atlantic from Combined Geosat and Seasat Data" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 97 (B3): 3337–50. Bibcode:1992JGR....97.3337M. doi:10.1029/91JB02605. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-11-30.

[gebco-4] Name from GEBCO gazetteer, position refined by means of etopo2 and sample data of GPlates

[5] Udintsev, G.B. (1996). "Equatorial Segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge". Unesco. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2011-12-05.

[roest-6] Roest, W. R.; Collette, B. J. (1986). "The Fifteen Twenty Fracture Zone and the North American – South American plate boundary". Journal of the Geological Society. 143 (5): 833–43. Bibcode:1986JGSoc.143..833R. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.143.5.0833. S2CID 128413673.

[7] Tucholke, Brian E.; Schouten, Hans (1988-03-01). "Kane Fracture Zone". Marine Geophysical Research. 10 (1–2): 1–39. Bibcode:1988MarGR..10....1T. doi:10.1007/BF02424659. S2CID 129456202.

[odp-8] "Map with Jan Mayen, Greenland and Senja Fracture Zones". Ocean Drilling Project. Retrieved 2011-12-16.

[9] Auzende, J.M.; Olivet, J.L.; Bonnin, J. (1970). "Marge du Grand Bank et la fracture de Terre-Neuve". Compt. Rend. (in French). 271: 1063–66.

[LP-10] Le Pichon, Xavier; Fox, Paul J. (1971-09-10). "Marginal Offsets, Fracture Zones, and the Early Opening of the North Atlantic". Journal of Geophysical Research. 76 (26): 6294–308. Bibcode:1971JGR....76.6294L. doi:10.1029/JB076i026p06294.

[patriat-11] Patriat, P., Sauter, D., Munschy, M., & Parson, L. (1997). A survey of the Southwest Indian Ridge axis between Atlantis II Fracture Zone and the Indian Ocean Triple Junction: Regional setting and large scale segmentation. Marine Geophysical Researches, 19(6), 457–80.