GY403 Structural Geology

Lecture 8: Faults
Fault Description
Dip-Slip: motion is parallel to dip direction
– Normal: hanging wall down relative to footwall
– Reverse: hanging wall up
Strike-Slip: motion is parallel to strike
direction
– Left-lateral: turn left to find offset structure
– Right-lateral: turn right to find offset structure
Oblique-Slip: a combination of strike and
dip slip
Fault Description
Fault Planes
A fracture where offset is
observed
If a planar feature is
offset use separation to U
D
describe the offset (i.e.
right-lateral separation)
If a linear structure is HW
FW
offset use slip to describe
the sense of offset (i.e.
reverse slip)
Topographic Expression of Faults
Faults often juxtapose rock units of distinctly
different erosional rates, which leads to the
development of a “topographic break
These topographic breaks are known as fault
escarpments, or fault scarps
2 Basic types:
– Fault scarp: the topographic break observed is
directly due to fault offset (ex. Basin & Range
Province
– Fault-line scarp: the topographic break is due to
differential erosion and may or may not match fault
offset (Llano Uplift)
Fault Escarpment
Fault-Line Scarp
Hollins-Line Thrust Fault (250Ma) in the
northern Alabama Piedmont terrane
Fault Surfaces
The sliding and grinding action along a fault
plane produces a variety of structures:
– Slickensides: a type of mineral lineation that grows
parallel to last fault slip direction
– Triangular Facets: topographic features produced by
stream erosion along active fault surfaces
– Mullions: grooves in the fault surface that are parallel
to fault slip
– Chatter Marks: asymmetrical offsets along the profile
of a fault surface; indicate slip direction
Slickensides
Polished fault surface
with mineral lineations
parallel to slip
direction
Note that the mineral
lineations only show
the last slip increment
Triangular Facets
Only occur along
active fault zones
Chatter Marks
Step-like offsets on
fault surface
Indicates slip direction
Fault Zones
Drag Folding
Reverse Drag & “Roll-Over” Anticlines
Ductile Shear Zones
S/C Mylonites
Drag Folding
Determines the sense of slip in a fault
zone
Reverse Drag

Basement Fault
Roll-over Anticline Trap
Ductile Shear Zone

• No detectable offset at viewing scale.

• Offset measured outside of shear zone.
S/C Mylonites
Fault Zone Rocks
Breccia Series: angular clasts in a finer matrix; non-
cohesive unless mineralized by secondary fluids
– Megabreccia: clast size > 0.5m
– Breccia: clast size > 1mm to < 0.5m
– Microbreccia: clast size > 0.1mm to < 1mm
– Gouge: clast size < 0.1mm
Cataclasite: angular clasts in a finer matrix; cohesive
– Cataclasite: clast size > 0.1mm to < 10mm
– Ultracataclasite: clast size < 0.1mm
Pseudotachylite: glass produced by frictional melting;
only possible in deep fault zones with large magnitude
seismic events (>8.0)
Megabreccia
Angular clasts > 0.5m
in diameter
Breccia
Clast size > 0.5m to 1mm
Fault Gouge
Unconsolidated,
powder-like
material; < 0.1mm
clast size
(consistency
similar to talcum
powder)
Pseudotachylite
Glass material
produced by
extremely powerful
seismic events
Fault Outcrop Patterns
Faulting may
generate repetition
or omission of
strata on the
surface or in the
subsurface
In general,
Reverse faulting
causes omission
on the surface and
repetition in the
subsurface
Normal faulting
produces repetition
on the surface and
omission in the
subsurface
Stratigraphic Throw
Stratigraphic throw:
vertical distance of
different stratigraphic
levels juxtaposed by
offset on fault
Note that only in special
cases would
stratigraphic throw equal
net slip
Fault Line Work & Map Symbols
Fault Line Work:
appears on the
hanging wall side of
the fault
Net Slip: orientation
indicated by an
arrow with plunge
angle
Separation is
indicated in (),
underlined if net slip
magnitude is known
Slip and Drag Folding
Drag folding directly determines the orientation
of the net slip vector – perpendicular to the
hinge line of the drag fold

En Echelon
Gash Fractures & Net Slip
Gash
Fractures:
indicate net
slip sense
from finite
strain ellipse
Thrust Faults
Low angle (<45) reverse faults
Common along convergent plate boundaries
Thrust Terminology
Window (Fenster): erosional “hole” through
upper hanging wall plate to expose footwall;
topographically low
Klippe: erosional remnant of hanging wall;
topographically high
“Eyelid” Window: forms when the erosional
surface exposes multiple fault “horses” in a fault
“duplex”
Fault Horse: a body of rock completely
surrounded by fault surfaces
Klippe & Window Geometry
Allochthonous: a body of rock that has been moved
(translated) a significant distance by thrusting (usually
the hanging wall block)
Autochthonous: a body of rock that is “anchored” in
place during thrusting (usually the footwall block)
Thrust Cross-sectional Geometry
Ramp: dip on thrust fault plane is non-zero
Flat: dip on thrust fault plane is zero
Thrust Duplex
Consists of several fault horses in the footwall of a thrust covered
completely by the roof thrust
If the roof thrust does not cut off the top of the horses the system is
an imbricate fan

Imbricate
Fan

Duplex
In-Sequence Thrusting
Form in the direction of transport; Roof thrust has large
offset relative to the fault horse blocks
Out-of-Sequence Thrusting
Form by a “Stepping Down” process; Roof thrust
has little displacement relative to upper fault
horse
Example: Mitchell Dam NW
Quadrangle
Is this In-Sequence or
Out-of-Sequence
Thrusting?
“Eye-lid” Window
Forms when the
erosional surface
cuts a fault
“Duplex” made of
multiple horses
Tear Faults
Associated with thrust fault systems
More Tear Faults …
Tear faults can accommodate lateral
ramps
Thrust Mechanics
Fluid over-pressure PLitho=PFluid is required to
move thrust sheets a significant distance
Normal Faulting
Produced by divergent plate tectonics
(tensile stress) Seismic Refraction Profile

Cenozoic “layer-cake” strata

Dipping Paleozoic strata

Precambrian basement
Rifting
Converting continental lithosphere to oceanic
lithosphere
Basin & Range Province
Marked by numerous NW-
SE trending normal faults
producing mountain ranges
(Horst) and valleys (Graben)
Produced by rifting of
continental Lithosphere
Note that even though the
continental Lithosphere is
being thinned the entire
region is uplifted by thermal
expansion in the
Asthenosphere
Basin & Range Physiography
Fault scarps are produced by the active
faults
Traditional Interpretation of B&R
Structure
Traditional
interpretation of surface
geology yielded “down-
to-basement” steep
normal faults
Modern Interpretation from Seismic
Refraction Profiles
Seismic cross-sections show steeply dipping
faults becoming less steep at depth (Listric)
producing a rotational component to fault motion
Low Angle Normal Faults
Low angle normal
faults are known
as detachment
faults
Strike-Slip Faults
San Andreas fault
tectonic evolution
Restraining/Releasing Bends
Bends in the strike of a fault will produce:
– Restraining Bends: compression
– Releasing Bends: tension
Restraining bends are also termed
“Transpressional” regions and will have
compressional features associated with it
(Thrust faults, folds, etc.)
Releasing bends are also termed
“Transtensional” regions and will have
extensional features associated with it (Normal
faults, thinned crust)
Releasing/Restraining Bends
Restraining bends typically develop into strike
slip duplexes
Releasing/Constraining Examples
Death Valley, CA
Exam Summary
Know the definitions of separation and slip, and know how to sketch
examples of both, or how to recognize each from a simple geologic map
Be able to describe structures associated with Fault Surfaces or Zones
(Slickensides, Chatter Marks, Drag Folds, Ductile Shear, S/C Mylonites)
Be able to list and the describe the classification of cataclastic fault zone
rocks (including clast size ranges)
Be able to sketch and describe the classification system for slip on faults
(dip-slip, strike-slip, oblique slip, etc.)
Be able to discuss the difference between Fault Scarps and Fault-line
Scarps and give geological examples
Be able to sketch examples of Normal, Reverse and Strike slip faults in map
view and/or cross-section with appropriate symbols
Be able to sketch the orientation of the principle stress directions at plate
boundaries on a stereonet
Be able to plot principle stress directions along with conjugate shear planes
for stress fields associated with plate boundaries