CHAPTER
Introduction to Faults
A fault is a surface or narrow zone along whieh one
side has moved relative co the other in a direction par-
allel to the surface ac zone. Most faults are brittle shear
Fractures Pigure 4.14) ot zones of closely spaced shear
fractures Figure 4.1B), bursomeare narrow sheat Zones
of ductile deformation where movement took place
without 088 of cohesion at the outerop scale (Figure
4.10). We generally use the term fault for shear froctuzes
cor vanes that extend over distances of meters or largee.
Features at the scale of centimecers or less ace called
shear fractures, and shear fractures at the scale of
nillimeret of less are microfaults thar may be visible
only under a microscope. Faults ate often structural
features of first-order importance on the Earth’s sueface
and in is interior. They afect blocks of the Earth’s crust
thossands or millions of square kilometers in afea, and
they include major plase boundaries hundreds or even
thousands of kilometers long.
‘The word fault is derived from an eighteenth and
rineteenth-century mining term for & surface across
which coal layers were offset. Many such mining terms
‘were transferred to geology in its early days, despite the
fact that the mining lexicon was often complex and
ambiguous. This cemry bas seen a number of attempts
to rationalize and systematize this verminology, al-
though there is still no ageeement on precise definitions
for some words. We try to crmploy only those cerms that
ace the most prevalent and the most useful in descibing
faults:
a
‘Types of Faults
A faule divides the rocks ie cuts into two fault blocks
For an inclined fault, geologists have adopted eke min-
ers? eras hanging wall for the botcom surface of the
‘upper faule block and fourwall for the top susface of
the lower fault block (Figuees 41, 4.2) In a ran. these
are the surfaces that literally hang overhead or le under
foot. The faule block above the fault is che hanging wall
block, and the block below the fault is che footwall
block: For a vertical fault of course, these distinctions
do not apply, and the sides of the fault are named in
accordance with geographic ditections: the northwest
side and che southeast side, for instance.
Faults are classified in terms of the attitude of the
fault surface. Ifa faule dip is more than 45°, itis a high-
angle fault; if less than 45°, ie isa low-angle fault.
‘We also divide fauls into three categories depend
ing on the orientation of the relative displacement, or
slip, which is the nee distance and direction thet the
hanging wall block has moved with respect to the foot
wall block (Figure 4.2). On dip-slip faules, the slip is
Approximately parallel ro the dip of the fault sucfaces
con strike-slip faults, cheslip is approximately horizontal,
parallel to the scrike of the fault surface; and on oblique-
slip faults, the slip is inelined obliquely on the Fault
surface. An oblique-slip vector ean always be described
as the som of a strike-slip component and a dip-slipB. Fault zone
C. Duct shear zone
Figure 4.1. Theee styles of fauhing. A. A single faule consises ofa single shear fractuce. A fault
one comprises Ba se of asociaced sheae fractates o¢ C.a 20n¢ of ductile shear.
component, or a5 the sum of a horizontal component
and a vertical component, The dip-slip component may
in carn be described as the sum of a vertical component
and a horizontal component, which are sometimes
called the throw and the heave, respectively.
“We subdivide faults further in terms of the relative
‘movement along them. Inclined dip-slip faults on which
the hanging wall block moves down relative co the foot-
wall block are normal faults (Figure 434). Those on
which the hanging wall block moves up telative to the
Footwall block are thrust faults (Figure 4.38)! Vertical
*Theue fouks char dip more steply than 48" ate sometimes called
revert faults.
52 BRITTLE DEFORMATION
favks characterized by dip-slip motion cannot, of
course, be classified as either normal or reverse faults,
so we simply specify which side of the fault has moved
up ot down, Seike-slip faults are right-lareral, or dex-
tral, if the faul block across the fault from the observer
moved to the right (Figure 4.30); they are left-lateral,
or sinistral, if that block moved to the lef (Figure 43D).
‘Oblique-slip faults may be described according to the
rnatuge of the strike-slip and dip-slip components. Figare
4.36, for example, shows sinistral normal slip, and Fig-
ure 4 3F shows sinscal reverse slip. For rotational faules
the slip changes rapidly with horizontal distance along
the fault (Figure 4.36).
Figure 42 Slip vecrors and slip components on a faule surface,Dp: gw Hanging wall
‘Hanging wall Hone
sip lock s
faults
Stik
sie
fats
Footial
biock
block
A. Nowa 8. Thrust C.Righttatera, ordonral __D, Letter er sit!
Oblique Rotational
tp faalt
fetts
E, Seistvaknormal F, Siisiva-roverse @
Figure 43 Faulted blocks showing the characteristic displacement for the differene classes of Fults.
5 th
Recognition of Faults Features Intrinsic to Faults
“he criteria for recognizing faults can be divided into Faults can often be recognized by the characteristic tex-
three broad categories: features intrinsic to faults them= tures and structures developed in rocks as a result of
selves, effects on geologie or stratigraphic units, and shearing (Table 4.1). These textures and steuctures vary
effects on physiographic features. We briefly consider with the amount and rate of sheat and with the physical
‘each of these categories. conditions at which the faulting escorted, including
Table 4 Fault Rock Terminology!
Caraclaste rocks
ected fermen Beelneie on
a = Tne Nawyanie Ne
sed Mylene I aeyonice 90%
The ceoninology appliod ve fal oaks is by ap means generally wrved upon, The dlinitions of the diMferenr areas,
and hequanstatve boundaries we bave placed on them, zhouldtherole be undecsood a gudeline to presen uzape, which
can vary from one geologist co another. We believe, for example hat what we have defined ax movie would anyone's
efinion, bu other geclogsts use plone in broader sense,