Fault (geology)

In <a href="/facts/Geology/WGvVRIYF">geology</a>, a fault is a <a href="/facts/Fracture_(geology)/qXCBP20K">planar fracture</a> or discontinuity in a volume of <a href="/facts/Rock_(geology)/FXCJkmop">rock</a> across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within <a href="/facts/Earth/HLLmDfj0">Earth</a>'s <a href="/facts/Crust_(geology)/FYG1kP4F">crust</a> result from the action of <a href="/facts/Plate_tectonics/RtRG5lY4">plate tectonic</a> forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of <a href="/facts/Subduction/rkasNdTo">subduction zones</a> or <a href="/facts/Transform_fault/3VyTyvrE">transform faults</a>. Energy release associated with rapid movement on <a href="/facts/Active_fault/h7QWBhdH">active faults</a> is the cause of most <a href="/facts/Earthquake/NGjIzagw">earthquakes</a>. Faults may also displace slowly, by <a href="/facts/Aseismic_creep/Slk3QHvN">aseismic creep</a>.
A fault plane is the <a href="/facts/Plane_(geometry)/tAUtRFcn">plane</a> that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A <a href="/facts/Fault_trace/xSYBjo0x">fault trace</a> or fault line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on <a href="/facts/Geological_map/HhK3dQ87">geological maps</a> to represent a fault.
A fault zone is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur the distinction, as the rock between the faults is converted to fault-bound lenses of rock and then progressively crushed.

Fault (geology) open-in-new

Fault (geology)