The fault has a total length of 144.4 kilometres (89.7 mi) and runs along an average north-northwest to south-southeast strike of 346.4 ± 8, cross-cutting the northern part of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

[1] The Otú Norte Fault crosses the northern part of the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes.

The sinistral oblique reverse fault separates blocks of totally dissimilar geology and lithology; the metamorphic Precambrian San Lucas Complex and Jurassic igneous rocks (diorites) of the Segovia Batholith on the east are juxtaposed against the Cretaceous Santa Isabel Stock and Paleozoic quartz-feldspar gneisses and quartzitic arc rocks of the Cajamarca Complex on the west.

Displaced Quaternary terraces as high as 140 metres (460 ft) are reported and the fault offsets the Tertiary erosion surface of the Central Ranges.

[15] Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015).