Types of Fault Lines
Fault Type↕ | Motion↕ | Stress Regime↕ | Famous Example↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Strike-slip fault | Horizontal, side-by-side | Shear | San Andreas Fault, California | Plates slide past each other, can rupture in huge lateral earthquakes like 1906 San Francisco |
Normal fault | Hanging wall down | Tensional (extension) | Basin and Range, western USA | Crustal stretching forms grabens and horsts, classic of rift zones and mid-ocean ridges |
Reverse fault | Hanging wall up | Compressional | Rocky Mountain thrusts | Shortens crust, builds mountains, common in collision zones |
Thrust fault | Low-angle reverse (<45 deg) | Compressional | Main Himalayan Thrust | Shallow-angle reverse faults that produce the largest megathrust earthquakes like Tohoku 2011 |
Transform fault | Horizontal plate boundary | Shear | Mid-Atlantic Ridge transforms | Connect offsets in mid-ocean ridges, accommodate seafloor spreading differences |
Oblique-slip fault | Mixed dip and strike | Combined | Denali Fault, Alaska | Combine lateral and vertical motion, produce complex rupture patterns |
Blind thrust fault | Reverse, hidden | Compressional | 1994 Northridge fault | Do not reach the surface, can produce surprise earthquakes beneath cities |
Listric fault | Curved, flattens with depth | Tensional | Gulf of Mexico salt basins | Curved normal faults that flatten into detachments, common in sedimentary basins |
Detachment fault | Very low-angle normal | Extensional | Whipple Mountains, Arizona | Expose deep crustal rocks as metamorphic core complexes |
Ring fault | Circular, caldera collapse | Vertical | Yellowstone Caldera | Form concentric rings around collapsed volcanic calderas |
Decollement | Basal detachment | Compressional | Jura Mountains, Switzerland | Horizontal slip surface that allows overlying rocks to fold and stack into mountains |
Megathrust fault | Shallow reverse at subduction zone | Compressional | Cascadia Subduction Zone | Produce the largest earthquakes on Earth (M9+), cause major tsunamis |
Growth fault | Syn-sedimentary normal | Extensional | Niger Delta, Gulf Coast | Active during sediment deposition, trap oil and gas in rollover anticlines |
Transcurrent fault | Intracontinental strike-slip | Shear | North Anatolian Fault | Long continental strike-slip faults, cause deadly Turkish earthquakes |
Splay fault | Branching from main fault | Varies | Sumatra splay faults | Branch off megathrusts and can amplify tsunami generation |
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