Optical remote sensing data shows that the Bam fault is not a single fault but consists of a 4–5 km wide fault system with the main branch running between the cities of Bam and Baravat. The fault ruptured by the Bam earthquake is believed to stretch the along northwest branch of this fault system from Bam southward. Based on these results, scientists suggest that the Bam earthquake ruptured a hidden fault and that in this process an unusually strong asperity was involved, causing the widespread devastation of the tremor.
