title: Piedrancha Fault
text: # Piedrancha Fault
  
  The Piedrancha Fault (Spanish: Falla de Piedrancha) is a dextral oblique strike-slip fault in the department of Nariño in southwestern Colombia. The fault has a total length of 79.5 kilometres (49.4 mi) and runs along an average northeast to southwest strike of 033.8 ± 14 in the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes.
  
  ## Etymology
  
  The fault is named after Piedrancha, the original name for the municipality Mallama in Nariño.
  
  ## Description
  
  The Piedrancha Fault is in the Nariño Department of southwestern Colombia, on the western slope of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes and to the west of the city of Pasto. The fault places Cretaceous oceanic rocks on the west against Cenozoic volcanic rocks on the east. The fault is believed to extend south into the Republic of Ecuador.
  
  