Active faults and inferred seismic sources in the San Vito lo Capo peninsula, Northwestern Sicily, Italy.

Two independent active faults, capable of generating medium-sized earthquakes in the San Vito lo Capo peninsula, northwestern Sicily (Italy) have been identified as a result of detailed field studies. In western Sicily, instrumental seismicity is low; in fact, except for the 1968 Belice earthquake (Ms = 5.4), historical records indicate that this area is relatively quiescent. Most of the seismicity is in the offshore sector of the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain, which is characterized by several medium- to low-magnitude events. The main shock of the 2002 Palermo seismic sequence (Mw = 5.9) represents the largest earthquake felt in the area in recent years. The deformation pattern characterizing …