Routine observation of microearthquakes in the vicinity of the Atotsugawa fault in the Chubu District has been carried on by the Kamitakara Crustal Movement Observatory, Kyoto University.
Microseismicity in this area seems to consists of three groups; namely, 1) a linear arrangement of microearthquakes along the Atotsugawa fault, 2) a large scale block of microearthquake occurrence extending from Mt. Norikura to Takayama, and 3) a distribution of N-S direction along the Central Mountains.
The linear distribution of microearthquakes along the Atotsugawa fault is particularly remarkable, which is the same properties as those along the strike-slip faults in northwestern Kinki District. Superposed push-pull distributions of the initial motion of P waves of these earthquakes seem to indicate that the general tendency of the tectonic compression acting in this area is nearly in horizontal and E25°S-W25°N direction.