Simpson Desert Earthquake Central Australia, August 1972

Abstract

In August 1972 a shallow earthquake of magnitude ML = 6.2 took place in the Simpson Desert region of central Australia. First-motion studies suggest a predominantly strike-slip focal mechanism for the main shock with one nodal plane paralleling the ENE trend of the aftershock sequence, which extended for about 120 km. The pressure axis for the main earthquake was approximately horizontal and N–S. This is the direction required to generate the earthquake zones in South Australia, and is suggestive of a simple regional stress pattern over the centre of the Australian Continent.