The Zendan Fault of southern Iran

The nearly north-south Zendan Fault in southern Iran offsets dextrally the line of collision between the Iranian plate to the north and the Arabian plate. To the west, the Zagros Thrust separates continents of the two plates but, to the east, oceanic crust of the Gulf of Oman intervenes between the Makran region of Iran and the continent of Arabia. This suture represents a former Tethys Ocean subducted northwards. An anticlockwise rotation in the Plio-Pleistocene of the vector of convergence between the two plates has affected the structures in the vicinity of the suture.