Stress State of the Earth's Crust in Azerbaijan

The study of the crustal stress has a practical implication in hazard mitigation. Knowledge on stress-related ground motion may help to improve the stability of public and private buildings. The stress state of the crust in Azerbaijan is studied in this paper by means of focal mechanism analysis and using different methods to determine the principal stress orientations. Two types of stress states were revealed in the studied regions. The territory of Great and Lesser Caucasus and Talysh folded zone are characterized by near-horizontal compression. The territories of Caspian Sea and Kura depression are characterized by near-horizontal tension. For both types of stress state, the predominant stress axes are oriented perpendicular to the regional geological structures