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The 1944 earthquake segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone contains paleoseismological signatures of major earthquake events. The segment consists of three active main faults and secondary faults showing anastomosing fault pattern. Stratigraphic and structural relationships and radiocarbon ages from trench excavation reveal that the main active fault located at the northernmost part of the region has produced four major earthquakes events up to now. These events, from north to south, correspond to 1944, 1668, 967, and 300 AD earthquakes on the segment. Our findings suggest that earthquake recurrence interval on the segment range from 276 ± 30 to ~700 years. The amount of displacement caused by surface faulting and earthquake recurrence interval indicates that the slip rate along the 1944 earthquake segment is 17–21 mm/yr in the late Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]