The epicentre intensity of Haiyuan earthquake is 12 degrees. One of the important reasons is that there are extensive and strong tectonic deformation zones and various other phenomena with huge scale in the epicenter and extreme earthquake area. The Great Wall near the Mongolian desert in northern Yinchuan was cut by the earthquake, and the landform of the Loess Plateau was completely changed. The high fault became a ditch, the mountain cracked, and a small lake appeared on the flat ground.

Faults: There are various faults in the earthquake zone, some of which are tens of kilometers long, and the maximum horizontal fault distance is17m. The vertical fault distance is like a runaway wild horse on the rampage. They stagger the mountains. Staggered ridges, across rivers, across canyons. The residential buildings located in the fault development zone were the most seriously damaged, and many villages were razed to the ground, causing extremely serious casualties. There is a village with a population of 170, and only 6 people survived. A fault zone was formed after the earthquake. This fault zone starts from Nikou in Guyuan and passes through Haiyuan, Xi 'an, Ganyanchi and Xingquanbao in Jingtai County, with a total length of 220 kilometers, and the whole fault zone is 50-70 degrees north. More than a dozen stone ridges were found to the west of Ganyanchi, which were staggered by the earthquake fault zone by a distance of 2 meters and twisted counterclockwise.

Ground fissure: Like a fault, crossing a strange place is unstoppable. Unlike faults, ground fissures are strata. Whenever horizontal or vertical dislocation occurs, a series of trenches or low graben, scarps or depressions will be formed in the area where ground fissures develop. In some places, there are wide ground fissures passing through it. The permafrost on the surface is suspended in the air by the roots of plants, just like a bridge.

Bulging: during the earthquake, due to the strong compression of the earth's crust, in many areas, bulging or uplift appeared on the ground. These bumps and bulges look like a Great Wall or a grave.

Landslide or collapse: Landslide and collapse are a kind of crustal geological phenomenon caused by strong earthquake, which makes the edge of cliff plateau unstable due to gravity. Landslides mainly occur on the slope of the gully-side plateau, and the slope is relatively slow; Collapse mainly occurs in the cliff ridge area. The landslide and collapse of Haiyuan earthquake are unprecedented in previous earthquakes, which has a great relationship with the intensity of the earthquake and its occurrence in loess area. Landslides and collapses not only aggravated the disaster, but also formed many dammed lakes of different sizes. Yi Hae won's Haizi and Xiji's Zhenhu are famous.

There are fault zones and gullies in many places in Haiyuan. Most of them are caused by earthquakes. The once spectacular ancient city of Xi 'an was destroyed in that earthquake, and now there is only 3-8 meters of city base left!