SURFACE RUPTURE FEATURES OF THE 2008 YUTIAN M_S 7.3 EARTHQUAKE AND ITS TECTONIC NATURE

High-resolution satellite image interpretation and field investigation indicate that the surface rupture zone produced by the Yutian MS7.3 earthquake is～25km long along a NS-trending fault at the western piedmont of a snow-covered range at the upper reach of the Yurungongkash River,about 20km south of the Ashikule Volcanoes.The surface rupture zone consists of different striking ruptures with both normal and left-lateral faulting components.The maximum left-lateral and vertical co-seismic slips measured in the field are～1.8m and～2.0m,respectively.Its seismogenic NS-trending fault belongs to the secondary structure at the NE-trending tensile area of the southwestern end of the Altyn Tagh Fault,which conforms to the eastward escape of the Kunlun-Qaidamu-Qilian block,relative to the Western Kunlun block.