Regional division of the recent tectonic stress field in China and adjacent areas
中国大陆及邻区现代构造应力场分区

On the basis of the "Basic database of crustal stress environment in China", this paper summarizes the basic characteristics of recent tectonic stress field in China and adjacent areas, proposes the principle of dividing the tectonic stress districts. The recent tectonic stress field of China and adjacent areas is classified into four classes: The characteristic of the first order tectonic stress district shows uniformity and stability in large areas and long time. This stress field is mostly controlled by the geometry character of plate boundary and the force acting on plate boundary. The stress action of second order tectonic stress district shows coherence in a relatively large area. This stress field is controlled by regional block interaction. The stress regime of the third order tectonic stress district shows comparability in finite areas. This stress field is mostly influenced by interior block interaction inside the areas. The stress character (direction, intensity, structure, etc) of the forth order stress district shows better coherence. This stress field is mostly controlled by block and fault interaction. The paper preliminarily analyzes the dynamic environment which controlled the recent tectonic stress field in China and adjacent areas.