---
license: cc-by-sa-4.0
pretty_name: GEM Global Active Faults Database — GeoParquet
tags:
- geospatial
- geology
- geophysics
- earthquakes
- tectonics
- faults
- seismic-hazard
- geoparquet
- earth-observation
size_categories:
- 10K<n<100K
---

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<h1 align="center">GEM Global Active Faults Database — GeoParquet</h1>

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## Quick Links
- 🤗 Hugging Face dataset: https://huggingface.co/datasets/NoraResearchLab/gem-global-active-faults
- 💻 GitHub repo: https://github.com/Nora-Research-Lab/gem-global-active-faults
- 🏢 NORA Research Lab: https://github.com/Nora-Research-Lab

## Overview
A standardized, machine-readable **GeoParquet** conversion of the GEM Foundation's **Global Active Faults Database (GAF-DB)** — the first public, comprehensive, worldwide database of active fault traces, including geometry, kinematics, slip-rate, and reference attributes (~13,500 faults).

This is a **representation-only modernization**: the original geological content, geometries, and attributes are preserved as published. No fault interpretation, slip-rate estimation, or new geological information is introduced.

**Pipeline:** Legacy Geospatial Data → Standardization → Modern Format → Validation → Metadata → AI/API Ready

## Dataset Details
- **Coverage:** Global
- **Format:** GeoParquet (`gem_active_faults.parquet`)
- **CRS:** EPSG:4326
- **Rows:** ~13,500 fault traces (exact count set at conversion time — see `metadata.json`)
- **Geometry type:** LineString / MultiLineString
- **License:** CC BY-SA 4.0

## Schema
Field names are standardized to snake_case; original GAF-DB attributes (fault geometry, kinematics, slip rate, slip type, references, notes, etc.) are preserved as published. Full field list and dtypes are in `metadata.json`.

## Source
- **Publisher:** Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation
- **Original repository:** https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults
- **Citation:** Styron, R. and Pagani, M. (2020). The GEM Global Active Faults Database. *Earthquake Spectra*, 36(1_suppl), 160–180.

## Usage
```python
import geopandas as gpd
gdf = gpd.read_parquet("gem_active_faults.parquet")
```

## Provenance
Converted with a reproducible pipeline: download → schema standardization → CRS enforcement (EPSG:4326) → geometry validation/repair → GeoParquet export → round-trip validation. See `metadata.json` for full transformation details and file checksum.

## License
CC BY-SA 4.0 — inherited from the original GEM GAF-DB. Attribute the GEM Foundation and the citation above when reusing this dataset.