Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Process

Faulting

Geology

The fracture and displacement of rock along planar breaks, the faults, across which rock masses have measurably moved. The largest faults in Earth's crust result from plate tectonic forces, the biggest of them forming plate boundaries such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones and transform faults, and the energy released by rapid movement on active faults causes most earthquakes; other faults displace slowly, by aseismic creep. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Timescale
Rapid movement in earthquakes; slow aseismic creep on other faults 1
Driving Force
Large crustal faults result from plate tectonic forces, with the largest of them forming the boundaries between the plates themselves. 1
Resulting Feature
The sudden release of energy from rapid movement on an active fault is the cause of most earthquakes. 1
Significance
How active a fault is matters directly for where buildings, tanks and pipelines are sited and for assessing seismic and tsunami hazard to people and infrastructure. 1
Driving Force
Driving Force (category)
Tectonic 1
Connections

Associated With

Folding, Processes

Folds may form from displacement on a non-planar fault or at the tip of a propagating fault.

Source Fold, Geology (Wikipedia)
Rifting, Processes

Rift depressions are framed by normal faulting.

Source Rift (Wikipedia)
Soil Liquefaction, Processes

Seismic shaking generated along faults is the most common trigger of soil liquefaction.

Faulting is one of the primary deformation structures structural geology reconstructs the history of.

Source Wikipedia: Structural geology
Subduction, Processes

The largest faults include the megathrust faults of subduction zones.

Source Fault, Geology (Wikipedia)

A transform fault is a special case of a strike-slip fault that also forms a plate boundary.

Source Transform Fault (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces.

Source Fault, Geology (Wikipedia)

Causes

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (1755 Lisbon Earthquake); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source Wikidata: 1755 Lisbon Earthquake

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes (Wikipedia)
Source Great Kantō Earthquake (Wikipedia)

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (1960 Valdivia Earthquake); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source Wikidata: 1960 Valdivia Earthquake

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (1964 Alaska Earthquake); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source 1964 Alaska Earthquake (Wikipedia)
Source 2008 Sichuan earthquake (Wikipedia)

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (2010 Haiti Earthquake); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source Wikidata: 2010 Haiti Earthquake

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (2018 Sulawesi Earthquake and Tsunami); earth5 pass cause judgment: Faulting.

Source 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake and Tsunami (Wikipedia)
Source Basin and range topography (Wikipedia)
Source Chaman Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Cordillera (Wikipedia)
Source Denali Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Eureka Valley (Inyo County) (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Fault scarp
Source Glarus thrust (Wikipedia)
Source Graben (Wikipedia)
Source Great Glen Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Great Sumatran fault (Wikipedia)
Source Half-graben (Wikipedia)
Source Hayward Fault Zone (Wikipedia)
Source Höllental (Black Forest) (Wikipedia)
Source A Dictionary of Earth Sciences (Encyclopedia.com): horst
Source Kuma-Manych Depression (Wikipedia)
Source Lofoten (Wikipedia)
Source Massif (Wikipedia)
Source Moine Thrust Belt (Wikipedia)
Source Nappe (Wikipedia)
Source North Anatolian Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Pull-apart basin (Wikipedia)
Source Red River Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Wikipedia)
Source Sagaing Fault (Wikipedia)
Source Shutter ridge (Wikipedia)
Source Wasatch Fault (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Geology, Disciplines
Source Fault, Geology (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Fault, Geology (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    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 movements.
  • Mechanisms of faulting (cause)
    Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates.
  • Mechanisms of faulting (energy release)
    Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes.
  • Impacts on structures and people
    The level of a fault's activity can be critical for (1) locating buildings, tanks, and pipelines and (2) assessing the seismic shaking and tsunami hazard to infrastructure and people.
View the Source
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences (Encyclopedia.com): horst
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences (Encyclopedia.com)Causes: Horst, Definition
Quote, Causes: Horst, Definition
Upthrown block lying between two steep-angled fault blocks.
View the Source
Massif (Wikipedia)
Causes: Massif, Article text
Quote, Causes: Massif, Article text
As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures.
View the Source
Great Kantō Earthquake (Wikipedia)
Causes: 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, Lead paragraph
Quote, Causes: 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, Lead paragraph
The Great Kantō Earthquake (Japanese: 関東大地震, Kantō daijishin, or 関東大震災, Kantō daishinsai) was a megathrust earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923.
View the Source
2008 Sichuan earthquake (Wikipedia)
Causes: 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Lead paragraph
Quote, Causes: 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Lead paragraph
The earthquake ruptured the fault for over 240 km (150 mi), with surface displacements of several meters.
View the Source
Graben (Wikipedia)
Causes: Graben, Lead paragraph
Quote, Causes: Graben, Lead paragraph
A graben () in geology is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults.
View the Source
Half-graben (Wikipedia)
Causes: Half-graben, Lead paragraph
Quote, Causes: Half-graben, Lead paragraph
A half-graben is a geological structure bounded by a fault along one side of its boundaries, unlike a full graben where a depressed block of land is bordered by parallel faults.
View the Source
North Anatolian Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: North Anatolian Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: North Anatolian Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The North Anatolian Fault (NAF; Turkish: Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian sub-plate.
View the Source
Denali Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Denali Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Denali Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Denali Fault is a major intracontinental dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault in western North America, extending from northwestern British Columbia, Canada to the central region of the U.S. state of Alaska.
View the Source
Hayward Fault Zone (Wikipedia)
Causes: Hayward Fault Zone, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Hayward Fault Zone, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Hayward Fault Zone is a right-lateral strike-slip geologic fault zone capable of generating destructive earthquakes.
View the Source
Glarus thrust (Wikipedia)
Causes: Glarus Thrust, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Glarus Thrust, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Glarus thrust (German: Glarner Überschiebung) is a major thrust fault in the Alps of eastern Switzerland.
View the Source
Great Glen Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Great Glen Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Great Glen Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Great Glen Fault is a strike-slip fault that runs through the Great Glen in Scotland.
View the Source
Sagaing Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Sagaing Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Sagaing Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Sagaing Fault is a major fault in Myanmar, a mainly continental right-lateral transform fault between the Indian plate and Sunda plate.
View the Source
Chaman Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Chaman Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Chaman Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Chaman Fault is a major, active geological fault in Pakistan and Afghanistan that runs for over 850 km.
View the Source
Red River Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Red River Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Red River Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Red River Fault or Song Hong Fault (Vietnamese: Đới Đứt Gãy Sông Hồng) is a major fault in Yunnan, China and Vietnam which accommodates continental China's (Yangtze plate) southward movement.
View the Source
Great Sumatran fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Great Sumatran Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Great Sumatran Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Great Sumatran fault, also known as Semangko fault, is a large strike-slip fault running the entire length of the island of Sumatra.
View the Source
Moine Thrust Belt (Wikipedia)
Causes: Moine Thrust Belt, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Moine Thrust Belt, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Moine Thrust Belt or Moine Thrust Zone is a linear tectonic feature in the Scottish Highlands which runs from Loch Eriboll on the north coast 190 kilometres (120 mi) southwest to the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye.
View the Source
Wasatch Fault (Wikipedia)
Causes: Wasatch Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Wasatch Fault, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
The Wasatch Fault is an active fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Fault scarp
WikipediaCauses: Fault Scarp, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Fault Scarp, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
A fault scarp is a small step-like offset of the ground surface in which one side of a fault has shifted vertically in relation to the other.
View the Source
Nappe (Wikipedia)
Causes: Nappe, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Nappe, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than 2 km (1.2 mi) or 5 km (3.1 mi) above a thrust fault from its original position.
View the Source
Shutter ridge (Wikipedia)
Causes: Shutter ridge, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Shutter ridge, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
A shutter ridge is a ridge that has moved along a fault line, blocking or diverting drainage.
View the Source
Kuma-Manych Depression (Wikipedia)
Causes: Kuma-Manych Depression, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Quote, Causes: Kuma-Manych Depression, Lead section (caused-by Faulting)
Formed by tectonic subsidence along an ancient fault zone in the basement of the Scythian Plate, the depression has repeatedly served as a marine strait linking the Black Sea and Caspian Sea basins over the past several million years, most recently during the late Pleistocene.
View the Source
Pull-apart basin (Wikipedia)
Causes: Pull-apart Basin, Lead
Quote, Causes: Pull-apart Basin, Lead
A pull-apart basin is a structural basin where two overlapping (en echelon) strike-slip faults or a fault bend create an area of crustal extension undergoing tension, which causes the basin to sink down.
View the Source
Eureka Valley (Inyo County) (Wikipedia)
Causes: Eureka Valley (Inyo County), Lead
Quote, Causes: Eureka Valley (Inyo County), Lead
Eureka Valley is a graben, like most other lower-lying areas of the Basin and Range Province.
View the Source
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (Wikipedia)
Causes: Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, Lead sentence
Quote, Causes: Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, Lead sentence
The conservation area showcases a set of large red rock formations: a set of sandstone peaks and walls that were formed by thrust faults including the Keystone Thrust.
View the Source
Basin and range topography (Wikipedia)
Causes: Basin and range topography, Lead sentence
Quote, Causes: Basin and range topography, Lead sentence
The extension results in the thinning and deformation of the upper crust, causing it to fracture and create a series of long parallel normal faults.
View the Source
Cordillera (Wikipedia)
Causes: Cordillera, Lead sentence
Quote, Causes: Cordillera, Lead sentence
Such mountain systems have a complex structure, which is usually the result of folding and faulting accompanied by volcanic activity.
View the Source
Lofoten (Wikipedia)
Causes: Lofoten, Article text
Quote, Causes: Lofoten, Article text
This is a normal fault whose fault scarp has been eroded, forming a strandflat.
View the Source
Höllental (Black Forest) (Wikipedia)
Causes: Höllental (Black Forest), Article text
Quote, Causes: Höllental (Black Forest), Article text
The valley follows the line of the Bonndorf Rift Valley (Bonndorfer Graben), which runs from Kaiserstuhl via the Wutach gorge and Hegau to Lake Constance and is part of this tectonically formed fault.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.