Folds, Faults, and other

Records of Rock Deformation

 How Do You Fold
“Hard” Rock?

• 18th and 19th century geologists

were puzzled by how hard, solid
rocks could be bent, tilted and
fractured
• What forces could deform hard
rocks in such a manner?
 Deformation of Rocks
• Folding and faulting are the most
common forms of deformation in
the sedimentary, igneous and
metamorphic rocks that
compose the Earth’s crust
• “Structural Geology” is the study
of the deformation of rocks and
its effects.
 Orientation of Deformed Rocks
We need some way to describe the
geometry of geologic structures. So
we use the terms strike and dip.
Strike: compass direction of a rock
layer as it intersects with a
horizontal surface.
Dip: acute angle between the rock
layer and the horizontal surface,
measured perpendicular to strike.
Strike and Dip on a Rooftop
Strike and Dip in a Rock Structure
 Displaying Strike and Dip
on a Map
N

35O
W E

Direction Direction of
of strike down dip