By evaluating seismological data from the belt of shallow intraplate seismicity known as the Gissar-Kokshal seismic zone in Soviet Central Asia in conjunction with recent data on the shallow crustal structure and longer-term geologic deformation, we show that certain size-classes of earthquakes are characteristic of adjacent (and in some places overlapping) geologic/tectonic settings; we call these settings seismic domains. They are both geologically and seismologically distinct; i.e., they contain different rocks and structures and have different frequency-magnitude relationships. For example, in terms of number of events, Gissar-Kokshal seismicity is dominated by the microearthquakes that have occurred within the sedimentary rocks of the Vakhsh fold/thrust belt. These are all shallow and have occurred mostly within the frontal portions of the thrust sheets. More rarely, moderate-size (M>5.5) earthquakes have ruptured the thrust ramps. On the other hand, the major strain release in this region has accompanied the large (5.5