tivity on the carmel faul

caused by curved segments along the DST. Geophysical studies suggest that the crust,
including the continental shelf is divided into two, and that the CF system is the boundary
between them. The southern part includes central Israel and the northern part includes Galilee
and Lebanon (Garfunkel and Almagor, 1985; Ben-Avraham and Gintzburg, 1990; Hofstetter et
al., 1991).
The CF, which follows a general NW to SE direction (Fig. 1), is a set of many small fault
strands and has distinct tectonic and morphological expressions (Hofstetter et al., 1996). The
fault zone is quite complex with a terrestrial uplifting of about 500m above sea level. The CF
and its continuation as the Gilboa Fault (GF) together combine to create a seismically active
zone stretching for approximately 130km (Fig. 2; Hofstetter et al., 1996). Given that the
seismic ac<strong>tivity</strong> in the Galilee coastal plain is connected to the continuation of the fault in the
Mediterranean (Ron et al., 1984; Achmon, 1986; Ben-Gai, 1989), the fault zone stretches more
than 170km. Rotstein et al. (1993) carried out a series of high resolution seismic lines crossing
the CF zone, which permitted a detailed analysis of its shallow structure and nature. According
to their analysis the CF is a wide zone of intense deformation rather than a single fault trace. In
the Jezreel Valley the deformation is limited to an approximately 800m wide zone and appears
to be associated with pure strike-slip motion. East of Mt. Carmel the fault changes trend from
NW-SE to about N-S, and coincides with a zone of intense deformation at least 3km wide.
North of Mt. Carmel, where the fault resumes its NW-SE trend, it is nearly vertical at depth.
The development of movement along the CF system with time has been addressed by
different studies. Ben-Avraham and Gintzburg (1990) suggested that the CF originates in a
Paleozoic suture line between accreted terrains, which they linked to the closure of the Paleo-
Tethys. Achmon and Ben-Avraham (1997) suggested three major stages of tectonic
development: A Triassic-Jurassic rifting phase due to a N-S opening of the Neo-Tethys. A
compressive phase of the Late Miocene, which they suggest causes left lateral strike-slip
movement along the CF zone, where some of the older faults are reactivated. An uplifting
phase during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, in which most of the faults are reactivated as normal
faults, and the region of the Carmel, Umm-El-Fahm and the Gilboa are raised and tilted to the
southwest. The extent of the uplifting movement of Mt. Carmel during the Pliocene-
Pleistocene to the present has not yet been clearly resolved.
The Carmel region is an isolated mountain range in northwestern Israel (Fig. 1). Upper
Cretaceous marine rocks are exposed (Kashai, 1966; Karcz, 1958) along with volcanic
intercalations (Sass, 1980) and marine Paleogene rocks (Karcz, 1958). The stratigraphic
sequence shows limestones, dolomites, chalk and marls (Sass, 1957; Karcz, 1958; Kashai,
17