The Indonesian island of Sumatra is located in a highly seismic area of the world. In addition to the subduction zone and the associated Sunda Arc off the west coast of the island, Sumatra also has a large transform fault, the so-called Great Sumatran Fault, running the entire length of the island. The fault ends in the north just below the city of Banda Aceh, which was devastated in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. After the December 2004 earthquake, pressure on the Great Sumatran Fault has increased tremendously, especially in the north. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ... Categories: Geology stubs | Plate tectonics ... A transform fault is a geological fault that is a special case of strike-slip faulting which terminates abruptly, at both ends, at a major transverse geological feature. ... Location of Banda Aceh Devastation to Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra as a result of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Credit: DigitalGlobe) Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra at 5°31′N... The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hits Thailand The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. ...

Although an earthquake on this fault will not create a tsunami, it will still probably have disastrous consequences, due to its proximity to major population centers. Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earths surface. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ...

External link

• Great Sumatran Fault