Faults and Faulting
Examine how brittle deformation leads to fracturing and faulting within the crust. Classify faults into normal, reverse, thrust, and strike-slip categories based on their movement.
About This Topic
Examine how brittle deformation leads to fracturing and faulting within the crust. Classify faults into normal, reverse, thrust, and strike-slip categories based on their movement.
Key Questions
- What mechanisms cause rocks to fracture and fault rather than fold?
- How do we classify faults based on the relative movement of the hanging wall and footwall?
- How can we reconstruct past tectonic movements from fault evidence?
Active Learning Ideas
See all activities→Activities & Teaching Strategies
See all activities
More in Rock Deformation
Stress, Strain and Rock Deformation
Explore how tectonic forces apply stress to rocks, resulting in brittle or ductile strain. Understand the environmental and physical factors that determine how a rock mass will deform.
2 methodologies
Folds and Folding Mechanisms
Investigate the formation of folds through compressive stress over geological time. Learn to identify anticlines, synclines, and their key anatomical features such as limbs and axial planes.
2 methodologies
Unconformities and the Geological Record
Analyse unconformities as significant gaps in the geological record caused by periods of erosion or non-deposition. Understand their crucial role in interpreting Earth history and past tectonic events.
2 methodologies
Interpreting Geological Maps
Learn to read geological maps by understanding dip, strike, and complex outcrop patterns. Use these maps to identify underlying structural features like folds, faults, and unconformities.
2 methodologies
Constructing Geological Cross-Sections
Apply map-reading skills to construct accurate geological cross-sections. Visualise the subsurface arrangement of deformed rock layers to solve geological problems.
2 methodologies