STRUCTURAL

FEATURES OF ROCKS
 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Branch of geology that deals with

morphology, classification, mechanism and
causes of development of rock structures
 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
STRUCTURES

PRIMARY – Structural features that are developed in

the body of a rock during its formation

SECONDARY – All modifications of the original

structures and development of new forms, shapes and
rearrangement of the component grains, crystals or mineral
constituents that are induced in the rocks after their
formation
 BASIC TERMS
OUTCROP – exposure of a solid rock on the surface of the earth

BEDDING/STRATIFICATION – layered character of beds or strata with

distinguishable variation in colour, composition and grain size

LAMINATION – layered structure developed in extremely fine grained

sedimentary rocks made up of clay and silt so that different layers are very
thin
 BASIC TERMS
DIP AND STRIKE (Attitude of rocks)

DIP – maximum angle of inclination of a layer of a rock with

the horizontal. It is expressed both in degree and direction of
inclination

Clinometer – instrument used in determining the angle of dip

 BASIC TERMS
STRIKE – It is a geographic direction given by the line of
intersection of a horizontal plane with a bedding plane of a layer of
rock

TRUE DIP – measured in a direction that is essentially at right

angles to the strike of a particular layer

APPARENT DIP – measured in any other direction which is not

right angle to its strike direction
 BASIC TERMS
TYPES OF DIPS

PRIMARY DIPS – deposited in an originally sloping basin. It is

anything between 5-10 degrees, and may be up to 35 degrees(rare)

SECONDARY DIPS – inclination induced in the strata after its

deposition due to tectonic force
 BASIC TERMS
LOCAL DIPS – inclinations or rocks exposed in a limited area of
observation. These may be primary or secondary and may or
may not show any appreciable variation laterally or with depth

REGIONAL DIP – an averaged general inclination of a series of

formations exposed over a wide area. It is considered in totality. It
may prevail over many hundred kilometers
 BASIC TERMS
OUTCROP DIMENSIONS
WIDTH/BREADTH – distance between the top and bottom edges of
the bed as measured on the surface of the ground in a direction
perpendicular to the strike of that particular bed

THICKNESS – perpendicular distance between the top and bottom surface of the
same layer as seen in a vertical section at right angles to the strike of the layer

DEPTH – perpendicular distance between the ground surface and the top surface
of a particular layer
 BASIC TERMS
IGNEOUS ROCKS – Formed from cooling and crystallization of hot molten
material called magma when occurring below the surface and lava when
outflowing on the surface through volcanoes

INTRUSIONS – when magma gets intruded or injected into the pre-

existing rocks of any type – called the host rocks

(Intrusive Igneous Magma & Extrusive Igneous Layers)

 FOLDS AND FOLDING

FOLDS – defined as undulations or bends or curvatures developed

in the rocks of a crust as a result of stresses to which these rocks
have been subjected from time to time in the past history of the
Earth

FOLDING – process of development of folds in the rocks. It is a

ductile deformation.
 PARTS OF A FOLD
LIMBS – sides or flanks of a fold

HINGE – a point where curvature is maximum and one limb ends while the other limbs start from
that point

HINGE LINE – when rocks occur in a sequence and all their hinge points are joined together

AXIAL SURFACE – imaginary plane that passes through all the points of maximum curvature in
a folded sequence. It can be called as axial plane if it is planar in nature. It can be vertical,
horizontal or inclined.

AXIS OF A FOLD – a line drawn parallel to the hinge line of a fold. A line representing the
intersection of the axial plane of a fold with any bed of the fold

PLUNGE OF A FOLD - angle of inclination of the fold axis with the horizontal as measured in
a vertical plane

CREST – line running through the highest points in an uparched folds

TROUGH – line running through the lowest points in a downarched bends

 CLASSIFICATION OF FOLDS
ANTICLINES & SYNCLINES

Anticlines •
(i) strata are uparched (convex upwards)
(ii) older rocks – interior of the fold at the core
youngest – outermost flank
(iii) limbs dip away from each other at the crest
Synclines •

(i) strata are downarched, convex downward

(ii) younger rocks – in the core of the fold
older rocks – outer flanks
(iii) limbs dips toward a common center

*Antiforms & Synforms (stratigraphic order is not yet established)

 PARAMETERS IN CLASSIFYING FOLDS

Position of the axial plane degree of compression

Behaviour with depth relative curvature of the outer & inner arcs

Plunge of the folds profile of the outer surface

Mode of occurrence miscellaneous types

 POSITION OF AXIAL PLANE
SYMMETRICAL FOLDS
- normal or upright folds
- axial plane is essentially vertical
- limbs are equal in length and dip equally in opposite directions
ASYMMETRICAL FOLDS
- limbs are unequal in length
- dip unequally on either side of the hinge line
- axial plane is inclined
 POSITION OF AXIAL PLANE
OVERFOLD
- limbs of a fold may get overturned because of very high
lateral compression

FAN FOLD
- extreme compression from opposite sides results in bringing
the limbs so close to each other that the usual dip conditions may
get reversed
 POSITION OF AXIAL PLANE
ISOCLINAL FOLDS
- group of folds in which all the axial planes are essentially parallel,
meaning that all the component limbs are dipping at equal amounts

RECUMBENT FOLDS
- extreme types of overturned folds in which the axial plane acquires an
almost horizontal attitude
(i) the arch (ii) the shell (iii) the core
(iv) the root/ root zone
 POSITION OF AXIAL PLANE
CONJUGATE FOLDS
- in certain cases a pair of folds that are apparently related to
each other may have a mutually inclined axial planes

BOX FOLDS
- exceptionally flattened top and steeply inclined limbs almost
forming three sides of a rectangle. 2 hinges and 3 planar limbs
CHEVRON FOLDS
-well-defined, sharp hinge points and straight planar
limbs
 DEGREE OF COMPRESSION
CLASSIFICATION OF FOLDS
Gentle fold = 170 to 180 degrees
Open fold = 90 to 170 degrees
Tight fold = 10 – 90 degrees

Open Folds – thickness of the rocks is not affected during the process
Closed Folds – thickened crests or troughs and thinned limbs
 MODE OF OCCURENCE
ANTICLINORIUM & SYNCLINORIUM
- It is a system of exceptionally large sized folds running often for
several hundred kilometers in length and several kilometers in length
GEOANTICLINES AND GEOSYNCLINES

- similar folding but signifying still larger bending and

uplifting of strata on sub-continental scales
 MISCELLANEOUS TYPE
MONOCLINE
- a localized warping in which case otherwise horizontal strata show a single
bend for a limited length and attain the horizontal attitude once again
HOMOCLINE
- describes a sequence of strata dipping in the same general direction at a
uniform angle , especially when such structure is established to be a limb of a major
fold
DRAG FOLDS
- minor folds developed within the body of incompetent rock surrounded on both
the sides by layer of competent or stronger rocks.
 CAUSES OF FOLDING
It can either be TECTONIC or NON-TECTONIC
(A) Folding due to tangential compression

(i) Flexural Folding – competent or stronger rocks are thrown into folds
due to their sliding against each other under the influence of lateral
compression
(ii) Flowage Folding – folding in incompetent or weaker, plastic type of rocks
such as clays, shales, gypsum and rock salt etc
- behaves almost as viscous or plastic mass and gets buckled up and
deformed at varying rates suffering unequal distortion
(
(B) Folding due to intrusions
Intrusion of magma or even rock salt bodies beneath has
been found to be the cause of uparching of the overlying strata

(C) Folding due to differential compression

Strata that are being compacted under load in a basin of
sedimentation develop, with passage of time, downward bending
especially in zones of maximum loading