Mode of Strike‐Slip Transfer Within the East Kunlun Fault System, Northeast Tibet

Large‐scale strike‐slip faults accommodate major crustal deformation during the Cenozoic India–Eurasia collision, yet the mechanisms governing slip transfer remain debated. Here, we investigate strike‐slip propagation along the ~1800‐km‐long East Kunlun Fault (EKF) using millennial‐scale slip rates and modern geodetic measurements. We identify three distinct segments: fast, quasi‐uniform slip (10–14 mm/a) along the western and central EKF; abrupt reduction to < 5 mm/a across the structurally complex Animaquen restraining bend; and terminal dissipation to ~1 mm/a toward the eastern tip. Fault bending and bifurcation exert first‐order controls on slip transfer. Horsetail splays transform strike‐slip into dip‐slip motion, promoting crustal thickening within the Bayan Har transpressional zone, whereas bifurcation partitions slip onto the northern Qinling boundary fault system. Differences between millennial‐scale and GPS‐derived rates on the Tuosuo Lake and Maqin segments likely reflect temporal slip variability, incomplete earthquake cycles and distributed off‐fault deformation.