The Alborz Mountain accommodates some of the convergence between Central Iran and Eurasia, is characterized by active range-parallel fold and thrust structures. At present, the kinematics of the range involves a strain partitioning mechanism and clockwise rotation of the South Caspian Basin. Range-parallel, left-lateral strikeslip faulting dominates the central part of the mountain range, while reverse faulting affects its northern and southern borders. Several slip-rate studies have been carried out along active faults in the internal and southern parts of the range. However, the characteristics of the main northern bounding fault (the Khazar [Persian: Caspian] Fault) remain poorly known. Our analysis provides new constraints on the activity of this fault. We first show that the fault generally is a hidden thrust fault, often associated with fault-bend and fault-propagation folds (forebergs). In the central part of the fault, the radiocarbon dating of an uplifted terrace allows estimating minimum vertical and average horizontal slip rates of 2.0 ± 0.5 mm/yr and 3 mm/yr respectively. hence, minimum slip rate along the fault reach to 3.6 mm/yr. About 150 km further east, near the city of Behshahr, within the archeological site of Gohar-Tappe, a paleoseismological trench study on a young detachment fold suggests that at least 5 events occurred in the past 5,300 years, 3 of them with surface-rupturing between 5300- and 3900-years cal BP, our results confirm that the Khazar Fault is a major active structure in northern Iran, and represents a significant seismic hazard for the entire Central Alborz region.

阿尔伯兹山容纳了伊朗中部和欧亚大陆之间的一些汇合点， 其特征是活动的平行褶皱和逆冲构造。目前， 该范围的运动学涉及南里海盆地的应变分配机制 和 顺时针旋转。与山脉平行的 左侧走滑断层控制着 山脉的中央部分，而反向断层作用则影响其北部和南部边界。沿该山脉内部和南部的活动断层进行了多项滑移率研究。 然而，主要的北部边界断层（Khazar [波斯语：里海]断层）的特征仍然知之甚少。我们的分析为该断层的活动提供了新的约束。我们首先表明该断层通常是一个隐藏的逆冲断层，通常与断层弯曲和断层传播褶皱（前山）有关。在断层的中央部分，隆起阶地的放射性碳测年允许估计最小垂直和平均水平滑动速率分别为 2.0 ± 0.5 毫米/年 和 3 毫米/年 。 因此， 沿断层的最小滑移率达到 3.6 毫米/年。再往东约 150 公里，靠近 Behshahr 市，在 Gohar-Tappe 考古遗址内，对一个年轻的拆离褶皱进行古地震海沟研究 表明在过去 5300 年中至少发生了 5 次事件，其中 3 次在 5300 到 3900 年 cal BP 之间发生了地表破裂，我们的结果证实了哈扎尔断层是伊朗北部的一个主要活动结构，并且代表了一个重要的整个中央阿尔伯兹地区的地震危险。