Strike and dip

Strike and dip refer to the orientation or attitude of a geologic

feature. The strike line of a bed, fault, or other planar feature, is a
line representing the intersection of that feature with a horizontal
plane. On a geologic map, this is represented with a short straight
line segment oriented parallel to the strike line. Strike (or strike
angle) can be given as either a quadrant compass bearing of the
strike line (N25°E for example) or in terms of east or west of true
north or south, a single three digit number representing the
azimuth, where the lower number is usually given (where the
example of N25°E would simply be 025), or the azimuth number A standard Brunton compass, used
followed by the degree sign (example of N25°E would be 025°). commonly by geologists for strike
and dip measurements
The dip gives the steepest angle of descent of a tilted bed or
feature relative to a horizontal plane, and is given by the number
(0°-90°) as well as a letter (N,S,E,W) with rough direction in
which the bed is dipping downwards. One technique is to always
take the strike so the dip is 90° to the right of the strike, in which
case the redundant letter following the dip angle is omitted (right
hand rule, or RHR). The map symbol is a short line attached and
at right angles to the strike symbol pointing in the direction
which the planar surface is dipping down. The angle of dip is
generally included on a geologic map without the degree sign.
Beds that are dipping vertically are shown with the dip symbol on
both sides of the strike, and beds that are level are shown like the
vertical beds, but with a circle around them. Both vertical and
level beds do not have a number written with them. Stratum compass to measure dip
and dip direction in one step
Another way of representing
strike and dip is by dip and
dip direction. The dip direction is the azimuth of the direction the
dip as projected to the horizontal (like the trend of a linear feature
in trend and plunge measurements), which is 90° off the strike
angle. For example, a bed dipping 30° to the South, would have an
East-West strike (and would be written 090°/30° S using strike and
dip), but would be written as 30/180 using the dip and dip direction
method.

Strike and dip are determined in the field with a compass and
Strike and dip of the beds. 1- clinometer or a combination of the two, such as a Brunton compass
Strike, 2-Dip direction, 3- named after D.W. Brunton, a Colorado miner. Compass-clinometers
Apparent dip 4-Angle of dip which measure dip and dip direction in a single operation (as
pictured) are often called "stratum" or "Klar" compasses after a
German professor. Smartphone apps are also now available, that
make use of the internal accelerometer to provide orientation measurements. Combined with the GPS
functionality of such devices, this allows readings to be recorded and later downloaded onto a map.[1]

Any planar feature can be described by strike and dip. This includes sedimentary bedding, faults and
fractures, cuestas, igneous dikes and sills, metamorphic foliation and any other planar feature in the
Earth. Linear features are measured with very similar methods, where "plunge" is the dip angle and
"trend" is analogous to the dip direction value.
 Apparent dip is the name of
any dip measured in a vertical
plane that is not perpendicular
to the strike line. True dip can
be calculated from apparent dip
using trigonometry if the strike
is known. Geologic cross
sections use apparent dip when
they are drawn at some angle
Strike and dip not perpendicular to strike.
Strike line and dip of a plane
Notes describing attitude relative to a
horizontal plane and a vertical plane
1. Weng Y.-H., Sun F.-S. & Grigsby J.D. (2012). "GeoTools: An perpendicular to the strike line
android phone application in geology". Computers &
Geosciences. 44: 24–30. Bibcode:2012CG.....44...24W (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012CG.....44...24W). doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2012.02.027 (https://doi.
org/10.1016%2Fj.cageo.2012.02.027).

References
Compton, Robert R. (1985). Geology in the Field (https://books.google.com/books?id=3U4SAQA
AIAAJ&q=editions:0DEedUPzlsf0WMItwQI). New York: J. Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-
82902-7. OCLC 301031779 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/301031779).
Lahee, Frederic Henry (1961) [1916]. Field Geology (https://archive.org/details/fieldgeology00lah
egoog) (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. OCLC 500832981 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50083
2981). "Frederic Henry Lahee."
Tarbuck, Edward J.; Lutgens, Frederick K.; Tasa, Dennis G. (2008). Earth: An Introduction to
Physical Geology (https://books.google.com/books?id=Dt6cQQAACAAJ) (9th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-156684-2. OCLC 70408067 (https://www.world
cat.org/oclc/70408067).
"Digital Cartographic Standard for Geologic Map Symbolization" (http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/fgdc_gd
s/index.php). FGDC Geological Data Subcommittee. USGS. August 2006. Retrieved 20 March
2010.

External links
"Dip" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Dip). New
International Encyclopedia. 1905.

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This page was last edited on 5 January 2021, at 09:31 (UTC).

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