Geologic investigations of Australian earthquakes: Paleoseismicity and the recurrence of surface faulting in the stable regions of continents

Earthquakes that occur in the stable regions of continents are very rare compared to those that occur along plate margins, such as the San Andreas fault system of western California. Worldwide, only 11 historic earthquakes in stable continental regions are known to have produced surface ruptures. Five of these have occurred in Australia since 1968 (see map, next page).