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Faulting, Thrusting and

Shear zones

Ranjan Kumar Dahal, PhD

Fractures in Rock
All rocks near the surface
have fractures. Most are
formed by uplift and cooling.
We call these joints.
Rocks on either side of a joint
have moved relative to one
another. These are faults.
Geologists have defined a
vocabulary to help them
describe the motion on faults.
Generally we cannot
determine which side of a
fault has moved (it could be
either or both). All we can tell
is the relative motion between
them.

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 FAULT - Definition
A fault can be defined as any brittle
deformation-induced fracture where there has
been movement of the blocks on either side of
the plane.
The fault plane is the actual surface where the
strata has been broken.
The fault line is the line made by the
intersection of the fault plane and the surface
of the Earth.
The fault blocks are the strata on either side
of the fault plane and the fault scarp is the
cliff formed on the "uplifted fault block where
the fault plane rises above the surface of the
Earth.

Back Throw

Foot Wall

Hanging Wall

Footwall: an old miners term, used to describe the side of

the fault that one could stand on
Hanging wall: the wall that hangs above the footwall

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 A fault has a strike, dip and
movement. The movement is
measured by the heave (H on
diagram), representing the
horizontal distance moved
and the throw (T on diagram),

Why Fault is Important ?

Faults generate earthquakes
Faults reveal how the earth has deformed
through time
Faults (including deformation bands) play
critical roles in fluid transport in the earth's
crust (e.g., water, magma, petroleum &
natural gas, and hydrothermal fluids [ore
minerals])
Faults are zones of weakness to account for
in engineering projects

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 A. Gross geometry Observations of faults
Thin relative to their in-plane dimensions
Bounded in extent
Grossly planar (usually)
B. Relative displacement (slip) of opposing fault walls is parallel to the fault
C. Structural details of faults
Overall structure: planar segments affects internal structure & fault behavior
Internal structure: complicated fracture pattern
Common for faults to be paralleled by other fractures. Typical assumption is
that fault slip causes fault-parallel fractures to form.
Common for hydrothermal/geothermal activity to occur near ends of fault
segments
D. Composition on fault plane
Breccia
Fault gouge
Mineralization
E. Kinematics
Cut adjacent material; faulting post-dates the host rock
Relative (not absolute) displacement (slip) of originally neighboring points is
parallel to the fault; relative displacement may or may not be small relative to
fault length
F. Surface textures of faults
Slickensides (polished surfaces)
Slickenlines (striations); parallel to most recent slip vector

San
Andreas
Fault,
back California

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A small fault caused damage to a

back stone wall along a road.

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 photo

Slickenslide

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Geologic classification of faults

A Geologic classification
1 Based on orientation of slip vector relative to the strike and dip of a fault
2 Slip determined by the relative displacement of piercing points that were
originally neighbors on opposite faces of a fault.
3 Piercing points mark intersection of a line with a fault
4 The slip vector connects offset piercing points
5 Slip is not the same as "movement" or "displacement"
B Dip-slip fault: slip vector is parallel (or anti-parallel) to dip
Normal fault: hanging wall moves down relative to footwall
Reverse fault: hanging wall moves up relative to footwall (Thrust Fault)
*Deeper (older) rocks thrust over shallower (younger) rocks*
C Strike-slip fault: slip vector is predominantly horizontal (i.e., parallel or
anti-parallel to the line of strike)
Right lateral: in map view across a fault, a marker is offset to the right
Left lateral: in map view across a fault, a marker is offset to the right
D Oblique-slip: combination of strike slip and dip slip
E Slip vs. Separation
Slip: True relative displacement of originally neighboring points
Separation: Apparent relative displacement of an offset feature as seen in a
map or a cross-section
F The amount and direction of slip can change with time and/or position
along a fault

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Fault Classification

Normal Fault

Back

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Fault Classification

Reverse Fault

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Fault Classification

Left Dextral Right Dextral

Back to description Back

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Fault Classification

Oblique fault

Back

Fault Classification

Thrust fault

Back

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Faults

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 Stress and fault
Each type of stress (tension, compression or shear)
produces a specific type of fault.
Tension and compression tend to produce faults
where movement is in the direction of the dip
component of the fault plane. This type of fault is
called a dip slip fault.
There are two broad types of dip slip fault that are
distinguished on the basis of the direction of slip.
Tension will produce movement where one block
slips downward compared to the other. This is called
a normal dip slip fault.
It is important to realize that the absolute motion of
the two blocks may not be determinable on the basis
of a single perspective diagram. Only the relative
motion can be determined.

Perspective diagrams of a
normal fault produced
following release of tensile
stress. The pre-faulting
situation is illustrated in (A).
After slippage, one fault
block moves downward
relative to the other resulting
in a stretching of the strata
(B). The relative position of
the hanging wall and footwall
is also indicated on the
diagram. Erosion tends to
remove strata from the
topographically higher fault
block (C). Notice the "V"
produced where the stream
crosses the fault plane. A
geological map showing all
necessary symbols is
illustrated in (D). U and D
refer to relative up and down
motion of the fault blocks.

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Fault and Stress
Reverse Dip Slip
Compression will produce movement along a
fault plane where one fault block moves
upward compared to the other.
This movement is the opposite or reverse to
that seen in normal faults which is the
reason why they are called reverse dip slip
faults (reverse faults).

Perspective diagrams of a reverse fault produced following release

of compressive stress. Note the differences in terms of sense of
motion, erosion of strata and geological mapping symbols.

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 Fault
Classification
summary

Fault Movement Detail

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Fault Movements

Fault slip

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 Vertical and Horizontal slip
Pitch

Back

Apparent movement
during faulting

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Calculation of Net Slip

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Separation

Separation

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 Throw and heave
Measured in a vertical section that
is perpendicular to the strike of
the fault

Fault Classification Detail

1. Geometrical Classification
2. Genetic Classification
3. Classification based on absolute
movement

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 1. Geometrical classification
Bases of classification
Like joints may be classified on the basis of their
geometry or genesis. No interpretation in
geometric classification so, less risk than genesis
classification.
The bases of five different geometrical
classifications are
(1) the pitch of the net slip
(2) the attitude of the fault relative to the attitude of
the adjacent rocks
(3) the pattern of the faults
(4) the angle at which the faults dip and
(5) the apparent movement on the fault.

1. Classification based on pitch of net slip

A strike-slip fault is one in
which the net slip is parallel
to the strike of the fault, that
is, the strike equals the net
slip and there is no dip slip
component. The pitch of the
net slip is therefore zero.
A dip-slip fault is one in
which the net slip is up or
down the dip of the slip
component. The pitch of the
net slip is therefore 90
degrees.
A diagonal-slip fault is one
in which the net slip is
diagonally up or down the
fault plane. There is both a
strike-slip and dip-slip com-
ponent; the rake of the net
slip is greater than zero but
less than 90 degrees

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 There are also faults where there is
a combination of strike slip and dip
slip motion. These faults are called
oblique slip faults.
It is necessary to distinguish between
oblique slip faults that have normal/reverse
dip slip motion and/or left/right lateral strike
slip motion dip slip and strike slip.

2. Classification based on attitude of fault relative to attitude of

adjacent beds
The terms refer merely to the
relations as observed in
plan, that is, on a
geological map
A strike fault is one that
strikes essentially
parallel to the strike of
the adjacent rocks
A bedding fault is a
variety of strike fault that
is parallel to the bedding
A dip fault strikes
essentially parallel to the
direction of dip of the
adjacent beds; that is, its
strike is perpendicular to
the strike of the adjacent
beds

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 Classification based on attitude.. contd.
An oblique or diagonal
fault is one that strikes
obliquely or diagonally to
the strike of the adjacent
rocks
A longitudinal fault
strikes parallel to the
strike of the regional
structure; abcd is an
example of a longitudinal
fault.
A transverse fault strikes
perpendicularly or
diagonally to the strike of
the regional stricture; ef
and gh are examples of
transverse faults.

3. Classification based on fault pattern

A third geometrical classification is based on the pattern
shown by the faults; ordinarily the classification is based on
the pattern on a map, but it may be based on the pattern in a
cross section
In some localities, the faults have essentially the same dip and
strike; they thus belong to a set of parallel faults (Fig. A). If the
strikes are the same but the dips differ the faults are assigned
to two or more sets of parallel faults. En echelon faults are
relatively short faults that overlap each other (Fig. B).
Peripheral faults are circular or arcuate faults that bound a
circular area or part of a circular area (Fig. C). Radial faults
belong to a system of faults that radiate out from a point (Fig.
D).

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4. Classification based on value of dip of fault
The fourth geometrical classification is
based on the angle of dip of the fault.
High-angle faults are those that dip greater
than 45; low-angle faults are those that dip
less than 45.

5. Classification based upon apparent movement

Classification is based upon the apparent movement
in vertical sections at right angles to the fault
An apparent normal fault is one in which the hanging
wall, in a vertical section at right angles to the strike
of the fault, appears to have gone down relative to
the footwall. The Committee of the Geological
Society of America advocated using the term normal
fault in such cases.
An apparent thrust fault is one in which the hanging
wall, in a vertical section at right angles to the strike
of the fault, appears to have gone up relative to the
footwall The Committee of the Geological Society of
America advocated using the term reverse fault for
such cases

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Apparent normal fault

Back

Apparent thrust fault

Back

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Interesting Summary!!!
It is obviously hopeless to attempt to
establish a single set of terms that will take
into consideration all the factors enumerated
above.
A far better system is to describe faults by
using several terms from the various
classifications given above.
Thus the faults in one locality may he
described as high-angle, en echelon, dip
faults.
In another locality the faults may be low-
angle, parallel, longitudinal faults.

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