Kinds of Faults

Faults

 Is a break in Earth’s crust where slabs of

crust slip past each other.
 Usually occur along plate boundaries ,
where the forces of plate motion
compress, pull, or shear the crust so
much that the crust breaks.
 Three Types of Faults

 Normal Faults
 Reverse Faults
 Strike-Slip Faults
 Fault Terminology

 Fault Plane - the plane along which the

rock or crustal material has fractured

 Hanging Wall Block - the rock material

which lies above the fault plane

 Footwall Block - the rock material which

lies below the fault plane.
 Hanging vs. Foot

 The footwall of a fault is always under the

fault

 The hanging wall of a fault is always

above the fault
 Normal Faults

 Caused by tension forces where plates

diverge
 The fault is at an angle
 One block lies above the fault (hanging
wall)
 The other block lies below the fault
(footwall)
 When movement occurs along a normal
fault, the hanging wall slips downward
Normal Faults
 Normal Fault

Footwall

Hanging Wall
Normal Faults
Normal Faults
Normal Faults
 Reverse Faults
 Caused by compression forces along
convergent plate boundaries
 Has the same structure as a normal fault,
but blocks move in opposite direction
 One side lies at an angle above the other
 Where the hanging wall is displaced
upward relative to the footwall
 OR where the footwall is displaced
downward relative to the hanging wall
Reverse Fault
Reverse Fault

Hanging Wall

Footwall
Reverse Fault
Reverse Fault
Reverse Fault
 Strike-Slip Fault

 Created by shearing along transform

boundaries

 Rocks on either side of fault slip past

each other sideways with little up-or-
down motion
Strike-Slip Faults
Strike-Slip Fault
Strike-Slip Fault
Strike-Slip Fault
Strike-Slip Fault
Whose Fault?
Side View
Whose Fault?
Side View
Whose Fault?
Birds-eye View
Whose Fault?
Side View
Whose Fault?
Side View
Whose Fault?
Birds-eye View
Whose Fault?
Side View