Earth and Life Science

Grade 11/12 • Unit 8: Plate Tectonics

LESSON 8.3
The Formation of Faults and Folds
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Learning Competency 2

Learning Objectives 2

Warm-Up 2

Learn about It 3
Types of Stress 4
Confining Stress 4
Directed Stress 4
Types of Rock Deformation 5
Folds: General Characteristics and Their Parts 6
Parts of a Fold 6
Types of Fold 7
Folds and Land Formations 8
Faults: General Characteristics and Their Parts 8
Parts of a Fault 9
Types of Faults 9

Key Points 11

Check Your Understanding 12

Photo Credits 14

Bibliography 14
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Grade 11/12 • Unit 8: Plate Tectonics

Lesson 8.3
The Formation of Faults and Folds

The West Valley Fault traverses the cities of Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Rizal,
Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan.

Introduction
What makes you stressed? How do you react to stress? Each individual has their own coping
mechanism if they feel stressed. Some take a day off while others binge on food. What
about non-living things like rocks? How do rocks respond to stress? In the context of
geology, stress is referred to as a force exerted on rocks. Rocks respond to stress by flowing,
bending or breaking depending on the type of material and the amount of stress it
experiences. This constant exposure causes rock deformation which will eventually lead to
folding and faulting. How is folding and faulting different from each other? What are
the types of stress and rock deformation?

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 8: Plate Tectonics

Learning Competency
At the end of this lesson, the given DepEd learning competency should be met
by the students.
Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation of folds and
faults (S11/12ES-Id-22).

Learning Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Differentiate among the types of stress and deformation that rocks
undergo.
● Describe faults and folds.
● Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation of folds and
faults.

Warm-Up

The Faults in the Philippines

Material
● internet-connected device

Procedure
1. Download the map of distribution of active faults and trenches in the Philippines
using this link: Distribution of Active Faults and Trenches in the Philippines.
2. Using the map of the west valley fault system, identify three faults located in Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao. Write your answers in Table 8.3.1.

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3. Launch the 2015 West Valley Fault Line Map and answer the given guide questions.

Data Table
Table 8.3.1. Faults in different areas of the Philippines

Area Faults

Luzon

Visayas

Mindanao

Guide Questions
1. How will you describe the distribution of faults in the Philippines?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Based on the map of the West Valley Fault System, which provinces will be likely
affected by the “Big One” earthquake?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. The province of Batangas experienced an earthquake swarm in April 2017.
Nevertheless, PHIVOLCS clarified that this was not related to the “Big One”. Which
fault could the Batangas earthquake be possibly attributed to? Use the map of
distribution of active faults and trenches in the Philippines.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Learn about It
The constant movements of the Earth’s tectonic plates continue to shape its structure.
Constant exposure to different types of stress causes rock deformation.

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Essential Questions
What are the different types of stress? How does stress lead to rock
deformation?

Types of Stress
Stress is a force exerted on an object, in this case, a rock. The two general types of stress
are confining and directed.

Confining Stress
Confining stress takes place when a rock or sediment is buried and acts uniformly in all
directions. The pressure builds up as materials are piled above a certain layer of rock. In
fact, confining stress is related to burial metamorphism.

Directed Stress
Directed stress only acts in one direction and is most likely associated with tectonic
activities. There are three types of directed stress, namely: compressive, tensional, and
shear stress.

Fig. 1. Different types of stress

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a. Compressive Stress
Compressive stress squeezes and shortens the layer of rock. It usually happens at
convergent boundaries.

b. Tensional Stress
Also known as extensional stress, this stress causes rocks to be pulled apart which
fractures and lengthens the layer of rock. It usually occurs at divergent boundaries.

c. Shear Stress
This stress acts in parallel but opposite directions. This type of stress causes one rock
to slide past another as seen in the transform fault boundary.

Stress produces the deformation known as strain. Several factors could influence rock
deformation. The nature of the material affects how a rock behaves when stress is
applied. Also, the higher the temperature, the more likely it is for the rocks to deform.
Moreover, pressure also affects the behavior of rocks under stress wherein as pressure is
added then the more likely a given rock could be deformed. Lastly, stress applied over a
long period of time in a slow yet constant manner can lead to rock deformation.

Essential Question
How do the types of rock deformation differ from each other?

Types of Rock Deformation

There are three types of rock deformation. These include elastic deformation, brittle
deformation and ductile deformation.

Elastic Deformation
A rock undergoing elastic deformation goes back to its original size and shape once the
stress is removed.

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Brittle Deformation
Brittle deformation occurs when rocks surpasses its elastic limit leading to formation of
fractures. It occurs at low pressure and low temperature conditions.

Ductile Deformation
Ductile deformation is a condition where rocks move in a plastic manner. This leads to
permanent change in shape and size yet does not involve breakage. This deformation
occurs at an area with high pressure and high temperature.

Ductile deformation is associated with folding of rocks. The series of wave-like ripples or
bends formed during mountain building are called folds. Some folds are composed of
several hundreds of meters layers of rocks bent and deformed while others are only
present in a microscopic scale. In general, most folds are products of compressional
stresses. Folding shortens the horizontal distance in rocks, and it usually occurs as a
repeating pattern.

Essential Question
What are the general characteristics of a fold? What are its parts?

Folds: General Characteristics and Their Parts

Parts of a Fold
A fold is composed of various parts. A fold arching upward is called an anticline while one
arching downward is a syncline. Limbs are the sides of the fold. The imaginary plane
symmetrically separating the fold into two is called the axial plane. The fold axis is the line
dividing the fold into its two limbs, and it passes through either the crest or the trough of
the fold.

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Fig. 2. Parts of a fold

Types of Fold
Folds can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Additionally, overfolds are folds that are
inclined in an overturned manner. Meanwhile, recumbent folds are those tilted beyond the
vertical axis in which the folds are already parallel to the horizontal plane. On the other
hand, if the fold has only one limb, it is categorized as a monocline.

Fig. 3. Different types of folds

In geology, an upward-arched anticline is used only if the oldest rocks are in the center and

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the youngest are on the outside of the fold. However, if the ages of the rocks are unknown,
an upward-arched form is called antiform which is also similar to anticline. Meanwhile,
syncline is only used to describe downward-arched fold when the youngest rock is located
at the center. Otherwise, if the rock ages are unidentified, the downward arch is termed as
synform.

Folds and Land Formations

Folding of rocks can also lead to different land formations. A circular or an elliptical anticlinal
structure known as dome can also be formed. It usually looks like an inverted bowl. On the
other hand, a basin is an synclinal structure which is the inverse of a dome.

Fig. 4. Comparison between a dome and a basin

Faults: General Characteristics and Their Parts

Some rocks eventually break or fracture in response to stress whereas this process involves
brittle deformation. A fault is a fracture or a discernible displacement where rocks grind or
slide past each other. Movement along a fault can be gradual or sudden and may create
large magnitude earthquakes. It is also possible that a fault can be a single fracture in a rock
or can be composed of a series of fractures called fault zones.

Essential Question
What are the parts of a fault? What are its different types?

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Parts of a Fault
A fault line is the trace of fracture on rocks while fault blocks are those that interact during
faulting of rock layers which can either be hanging wall or footwall. The overlying side of the
fault is called the hanging wall and is named as such because miners noticed that it is
usually the side that hangs over their heads. The side beneath the fault and most of the
time where the miners walked is called footwall.

Fig. 5. Parts of a fault

Tip
To correctly identify the parts of a fault, take note that a hanging wall is
where you can hang something, hence it is movable. Meanwhile, footwall is
the stationary fault block.

Types of Faults
There are several types of faults. This includes dip-slip fault (which includes normal and
reverse fault), strike-slip fault and oblique fault.

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a. Dip-slip fault
A dip-slip fault involves the upward and downward of fault blocks which either be
normal or reverse fault. A normal fault is where the hanging wall moves down
relative to the footwall. It is a product of tension which pulls the Earth’s crust apart.
Graben is formed when a wedge-shaped block of rock drops downward between a
pair of normal faults.

In a reverse fault, the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall. It is a product
of compression and therefore shortens the structure. A special type of reverse fault
is known as the thrust fault that causes nearly horizontal movement due to its low
angle of inclination, which is less than 45 degrees.

b. Strike-slip fault
A strike-slip fault occurs when the blocks of rocks move horizontally past each
other. This is a product of shear stress and is usually present in the transform plate
boundary. This can either be left strike-slip fault and right strike-slip fault
depending on the direction of movement of a block of rock with reference to another
block of rock.

c. Oblique fault
Oblique fault has both a dip-slip fault and strike- slip fault. This implies that it
involves significant horizontal and vertical movements.

Fig. 6. Types of fault

Furthermore, a joint is also a fracture in a rock. Unlike faults, joints do not produce
discernable displacements. One example of a joint is the Jurassic limestone layer found at

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Southwestern England.

Joints, fractures, and faults are essential for geoscientists. Aside from it being planes of
weaknesses, it should be considered when building structures. Faults are also areas of
rich-ore veins which are useful for the mining and petroleum industry.

Fig. 7. Jurassic limestone layer containing joints

Key Points

● Stress is a force exerted on an object, in this case, a rock. The different types of
stress includes confining stress and directed stress, which is further subdivided
into tensional, compressional, and shear stress.
● Rock deformation involves changes in shape and/or size which can either be
permanent or temporary. The different types of rock deformation include elastic,
brittle, and ductile deformation.
● Folds are a series of wavelike ripples or bends which is mostly formed when a rock

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layer is subjected to compressive stress. It is composed of an upward fold known as

anticline and a downward fold called a syncline.
● Fault is a fracture or a discernible displacement where rocks grind or slide past each
other. These different types of faults include normal dip-slip fault, reverse dip-slip
fault, strike- slip fault, and oblique fault.
● A joint is also a fracture in a rock without discernible displacements.

Check Your Understanding

A. Write true if the statement is correct and if not, change the underlined word or
phrases to make the statement right.
1. The downward bending of rock is known as dip-slip fault.
2. An area which contains several closely positioned faults is called a fault zone.
3. The block of rock which has a wider bottom as compared to its upper part is
referred as the hanging wall.
4. As materials are stacked on top of a rock layer, this layer experiences confined
pressure that could eventually cause its deformation.
5. Rocks are subjected to compressive stress along the subduction zone.
6. Time, temperature, pressure, and volume are some of the factors affecting the
deformation of rocks.
7. Synclines lead to the formation of domes.
8. Asymmetric folds are formed when it tilts beyond the perpendicular.
9. Graben is the downward block located along the fault zone.
10. Normal dip slip fault is most likely associated with divergent plate movement.
11. The fracture on rock layers which contains minimal displacement is known as
joint.
12. Compressional stress causes folding of rock layers.
13. Normal and reverse fault involves vertical displacement.
14. Rocks along strike slip fault experience tensional stress.

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15. Area with high temperature and high pressure could lead to folding of rock
layers.

B. Identify the term described in each statement then find the term in the word hunt.
1. This kind of stress is found at the spreading center.
2. These are cracks on the surface produced by appreciable movement of rocks.
3. It is a wave-like formation which results from collision of plates.
4. It is the deformation produced when stress is applied to rocks.
5. It is the point of reference in folds which is used to determine whether a given
formation is symmetric or not.

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Photo Credits

Introduction Photo. Relief Map of Metro Manila and nearby provinces showing the West and
East Valley Fault Line by Ervin Malicdem is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia
Commons.

Fig. 7. Joint spacing varying with bed thickness by Mikenorton is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
via Wikimedia Commons.

Bibliography

Carlson, Diane H. and Charles C. Plummer. 2009. Physical Geology: Earth Revealed, 8th Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Coenraads, Robert R. 2005. Rocks & Fossils: A Visual Guide. Australia: Weldon Owen Inc.

Hamblin, W. Kenneth, and Eric H. Christiansen. 2003. Earth’s Dynamic Systems, 10th Edition.
New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall

Monroe, James S. and Reed Wicander. 2012. The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and
Evolution, 6th Edition. International Edition. United States: Brooks Cole Publishing

Reynolds, J. Stephen, et al. 2013. Exploring Geology, 3rd Edition. United States: McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

Tarbuck, Edward J., and Frederick J. Lutgens. 2015. Earth Science. New Jersey: Pearson
Prentice Hall.

Tipler, Paul Allen. 1999. Physics for Scientists and Engineers. New York: W.H. Freeman and
Company/Worth Publishers.

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