CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1997 JABALPUR EARTHQUAKE AND THEIR BEARING ON ITS MECHANISM

The occurrence of a moderate earthquake near Jabalpur is an example of stable continental region (SCR) seismicity at lower crustal depths. T his event is spatially associated with the Narmada-Son lineament, a co ntinental scale structure where at least five earthquakes of M greater than or equal to 5.4 have occurred during this century. In comparison to other moderate earth-quakes in the Indian peninsular shield, the 1 997 event has several peculiarities, including a relatively deeper hyp ocentre, lower level of aftershock activity and shorter recurrence per iod. In this paper, we describe certain characteristics of this event and propose a conceptual model to explain its mechanism.