The Ordos block with typical boundary zone activity is located in the center of the Chinese Mainland. Under the joint influence of the remote action of the Tibet Plateau at the southwest and the Pacific Plate at the east, the tectonic activity and deformation of each boundary zone of the Ordos block have obvious specificity and differences. This paper systematically summarizes research achievements on active faults and the seismogenic mechanism of strong earthquakes around the Ordos block over the past few decades. The difference of fault activity in each boundary zones have determined the differences of strong earthquake breeding tectonic environment. At the southwest of the block, the faults are mainly characterized by strike slip, reverse strike slip, and thrust due to the influence of the northward compression and expansion of the Tibet Plateau, resulting in complex structural deformation styles within the boundary zone. In the northern section of the western boundary, the latest expansion boundary of the Tibet plateau is characterized by a dextral movement along the Sanguankou- Niushoushan fault. The Yinchuan Basin in the northern section of the west boundary zone is a typical fault basin, with the basin-controlling faults exhibiting dextral strike slip characteristics, and earthquakes are mostly of a normal strike slip type. On the northern boundary, the normal fault on the north side of the Hetao Basin is its controlling structure, and historical and ancient earthquakes characterized by normal faults are mostly concentrated on boundary faults. The southern boundary is mainly the Weihe basin, which has a relatively complex structure and is composed of two sets of normal faults. Large historical earthquakes mostly occurred on the southern edge, and moderate earthquakes also occurred in the central and northern parts of the Weihe basin. The Shanxi graben system on the eastern boundary is composed of multiple rift type basins, with strong seismic activity in the south and weak activity in the north. The northern basin is influenced by the Zhang-bo tectonic belt, and the basin trend and fault movement properties have undergone significant changes, with most of them having the conditions for ~M7. Overall, it is believed that the typical characteristics of fault activity are in the boundary zones around the Ordos active block. In the future, strong earthquakes will mostly occur in seismic gaps with long periods of large earthquakes, or in the transition and intersection areas of tectonic zones. It is also important to pay attention to the possibility of M 6-7 earthquakes occurring in some newly formed faults and fault segments without rupture.
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