Although the fault(s) responsible for the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake have not yet been identified (primarily because of the lack of surface rupture), evaluation of Landsat imagery, aerial photography, and topographic maps have revealed an ∼200-km-long, ∼15-km-wide, north- northeast-trending zone composed of subtle topographic highs and morphologic changes in rivers that may be associated with tectonic activity. River anomalies observed within this zone include river bends that are convex toward the north- northeast, incised channels, changes in river patterns, and convex-upward longitudinal profiles. Analyses of geologic and geophysical data further indicate that these surface features may be the result of ongoing tectonic uplift along a north-northeast-trending fault zone possibly associated with recent seismicity near Charleston.

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First page of Evidence of possible tectonic upwarping along the South Carolina coastal plain from an examination of river morphology and elevation data
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