Gouge is the carrier for information of the fault activity.In this study

fault gouges from the eastern Liupanshan piedmont fault zone were analyzed by ESR method.However

the measured ESR age is much older than that estimated in the field.On the other hand

SEM images of the quartz grains separated from the fault gouge showed a variety of morphologies

which indicate several periods of fault movements.The ESR age estimates failing to represent the latest fault movement suggest that the latest movement may not have zeroed ESR signals significantly for ESR dating and the quartz may be from different periods of the movements.Although there are still many uncertain factors in the ESR dating of fault gouge

it is essential to study systematically in this area.