Surface Rupture and Co‐seismic Displacement Produced by the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake of May 12th, 2008, Sichuan, China: Eastwards Growth of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Abstract An earthquake of Ms 8 struck Wenchuan County, western Sichuan, China, on May 12th, 2008 and resulted in long surface ruptures (>300 km). The first‐hand observations about the surface ruptures produced by the earthquake in the worst‐hit areas of Yingxiu, Beichuan and Qingchuan, ascertained that the causative structure of the earthquake was in the central fault zones of the Longmenshan tectonic belt. Average co‐seismic vertical displacements along the individual fault of the Yingxiu‐Beichuan rupture zone reach 2.5‐4 m and the cumulative vertical displacements across the central and frontal Longmenshan fault belt is about 5–6 m. The surface rupture strength was reduced from north of Beichuan to Qingchuan County and shows 2–3 m dextral strike‐slip component. The Wenchuan thrust‐faulting earthquake is a manifestation of eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau under the action of continuous convergence of the Indian and Eurasian continents.