Large earthquake recurrence in the Snowy Monaro region, first dated Holocene rupture and strike slip fault evidence for Australia

<div>The Snowy Monaro region hosts major infrastructure critical to Australia’s energy and water security. It also hosts a number of active faults capable of hosting large earthquakes that may impact this infrastructure. However, to date the hazard and consequent risk from these faults has been poorly characterised. This study presents the results of geological investigations to understand how often large earthquakes occur on these faults, and how big they may be, with a focus on the Jindabyne Thrust and the neighbouring Hill Top Fault. The investigation shows at least three earthquakes on the Jindabyne Thrust, with the most recent event occurring within the Holocene, and also demonstrate late Pleistocene activity of the Hill Top Fault. The new insights into earthquake activity rates have implications for our understanding of seismic hazard and risk in the Snowy Monaro region, and elsewhere in the southeast highlands of Australia. Presented at the 2024 PATA Days (Paleoseismology, Active Tectonics, and Archaeoseismology) workshop, Chile