FAULTS

In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or

discontinuity in a volume of rock, across
which there has been significant
displacement as a result of rock mass
movement. Large faults within the Earth's
crust result from the action of plate tectonic
forces, with the largest forming the
boundaries between the plates, such as
subduction zones or transform faults.
Energy release associated with rapid
movement on active faults is the cause of
most earthquakes.
A Fault is a displacement of rock
layers in the Earth's crust in
response to stress, accompanied
by a break in the continuity of the
rocks.
Types of Faults

The faults are classified as an

agreement with the disposition of
the fault plane and the direction
of displacement:
 dip-slip, offset is predominately
vertical and/or perpendicular to
the fault trace.

 strike-slip, where the offset is

predominately horizontal, parallel
to the fault trace.

 oblique-slip, combining significant

strike and dip slip.
 Dip-slip faults
• Dip-slip faults can occur either as “normal"
or as “reverse" faults.

In the normal fault: the hanging wall moves

downward, relative to the footwall.
A reverse fault is the opposite of a normal
fault—the hanging wall moves up relative
to the footwall.
Cross-sectional illustration of
normal and reverse dip-slip
faults
 Strike-slip faults
The fault surface is usually horizontal and
the footwall moves either left or right or
laterally with very little vertical motion

Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are

also known as sinistral faults. Those with
right-lateral motion are also known as
dextral faults.
 Oblique-slip faults
• A fault which has a component of dip-slip
and a component of strike-slip is termed
an oblique-slip fault.
• Oblique-slip fault
 Desplazamiento de una cerca producto del movimiento de una falla de

rumbo 

(Falla de San Andres)

 
 
 

                                 

                          

Falla San Andrés deslizamiento por el rumbo

 Impacts on structures and
people
• A fault often forms a discontinuity that may
have a large influence on the mechanical
behavior (strength, deformation, etc.) of
soil and rock masses in, for example,
tunnel, foundation, or slope construction
 References
• Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008
Microsoft Corporation.