GEOLOGICAL

STRUCTURE
Contents

• 1. Meaning of Faults
• 2. Classification and Types of Faults
• 3. Fault Scarps
• 4. Horsts and Grabens
• 5. Distinguishing Faults from Geometric Relations
• 6. Effects of Faulting on Geologic or Stratigraphic Units
• 7. Importance of Faults
Meaning of Faults
Meaning of Faults
• Faults are fractures in the earth’s crust along which slipping has
occurred parallel to the surface of the fracture. Some are clean sharp
breaks. Many however, consist of sub parallel faults among which the
total displacements have been distributed.
• The terms shear zone ox fault zone are often used to closely spaced
sub-parallel structures along which there has been distributive
movement. Some faults are knife like breaks. Other faults, due to the
frictional effects of rock masses sliding over one another break or
crack the rock on either side of the rupture.
• Some faults pulverize the rock in the fault zone to clay-like powder
called gouge. By convention the surface of rupture along which
relative movements have occurred are termed fault planes. The fault
surfaces in most cases are warped or curved and irregular and hence
the term fault surface is preferable to fault plane.
Classification and Types of Faults
• The major types of faults are the following:

• A. Normal Fault
Normal Fault

• A normal fault is a dip slip fault in which the hanging wall slips
downward relative to the footwall. This fault occurs along a steep
fault plane with a hade of 10° to 20°. The throw i.e. the vertical
component of the movement is large. This fault occurs due to
stretching of rocks.
B. Reverse Fault
• A reverse fault is the result of severe compressive stresses, where the
hanging wall moves up the fault plane relative to the footwall. The
two sides of the fault move closer together. This fault is also called a
thrust fault. The fault plane is low angled resulting in a large
horizontal movement.
C. Strike-Slip Fault
• In this type of fault, the separated blocks on either sides of the fault
plane move shearing off in the direction of the strike. This fault is also
called lateral fault, trans-current fault, wrench fault or tear fault.
 D. Step Fault
• This is a fault system consisting of a number of faults with parallel
fault planes, the separated blocks slipping in the same direction along
parallel planes giving a step-like feature. This fault is also called a fault
terrace.
E. Trough Fault
• This is a fault system in which two normal faults occur whose fault
planes are inclined providing a common down throw side between
them. The downthrown block between the two fault planes forms a
long trench called a graben or a rift valley. Some grabens are very long
and also deep and may be filled with water to become a water stream
•.
F. Ridge Fault
• In this case two normal faults occur whose fault planes are providing
a common upthrow between them.
• The up thrown middle wedge shaped block forms a long ridge between the fault
planes and is called a horst or & fault ridge.
• The up thrown middle wedge shaped block forms a long ridge
between the fault planes and is called a horst or & fault ridge.
FAULT SCARPS
• Many faults are known to break through the ground surface as well as
the rocks beneath. When the part on one side of the fault plane
moves up with respect to the other it will result in the form of a cliff
or fault scarp.
• The height of such a cliff observed at the present time depends on
not only the extent of displacement during the fault but also on the
long period of time elapsed since the fault occurred. At many places
erosion can reduce the projecting part of the up throw block to the
same level as that of the surface of the down throw block. As a result
different rock types or rock strata may be exposed at the surface on
either side of the fault.
An illustration of a FAULT SCARP
Rate of Faulting
• At some places displacements of a few centimetres to 6
metres have occurred in a few minutes. Such sudden
movements mostly produce earthquakes. There also
exist places where faulting takes place continually at a
very slow rate. Though over a long period of time the
total displacement may be great, the surface changes
may escape detection, since the up-thrown part is
continuously eroded as fast as it is elevated.
Horsts and Grabens
• In some situations a few normal faults occur whose fault planes
mutually diverge or converge displacing wedge shaped blocks
upwards or displacing blocks downwards as shown in Fig. 17.37. The
alternating raised blocks are called Horsts and the alternating lowered
blocks are called Grabens
Horsts and Grabens
• Horsts form long ridges and grabens form long troughs. Grabens may
get filled with water forming ponds, lakes and streams
Distinguishing Faults from
Geometric Relations
• The following geometric relations of the fault to the strata should be noted to
easily distinguish the type of fault:
• (i) In a bedding fault the strike and the dip of the fault are both parallel to the strike
and dip of the strata.

• (ii) In a strike fault, the strike of the fault is parallel to the strike of the strata, but the
dip of the fault cuts across the dip of the strata.

• (iii) In a dip fault the strike of the fault is perpendicular to the strike of the strata.

• (iv) In an oblique fault, the strike of the fault is oblique forming a distinct acute angle
with the strike of the strata.
Effects of Faulting on Geologic
or Stratigraphic Units
• Generally displacements along faults, places adjacent to one another, rocks which do
not belong together in ordinary geologic sequences. The discontinuity that results
gives an indication of the presence of a fault.

• In a continuous geologic feature like a sedimentary bedding if a break in the feature is

present it is an indication of the presence of a fault.

• Presence of horses or fault slices along a discontinuity is a clear evidence of a fault.

Horses consist of volumes of rock bounded on all sides by faults. They are sliced from
either the footwall or the hanging wall block by a branch of the fault and are
displaced at a considerable distance from their original position.
• They may appear remarkably out of place stratigraphically. In areas where horses
separate two similar rock types, a horse of a different lithology may be the only
evidence noticeable for a fault.
Effects of Faulting on Geologic
or Stratigraphic Units
• Omission or repetition of strata in a known stratigraphic sequence is yet another
indication of a fault.

• Faults have pronounced effects on topography, stream channels and groundwater flow.
These effects suggest the presence of a fault.

• Scarps are linear features distinguished by sharp increases in the topographic slope
and suggest the presence of a fault.

• Fault benches are linear topographic features distinguished by noticeable decrease in

slope. This feature occurs where a fault displaces an originally existing smooth slope
to form a strip of shallower slope. It is also possible that erosion of less resistant rocks
in a fault zone can also produce a shallower slope than the surroundings with more
resistant rocks.
Effects of Faulting on Geologic
or Stratigraphic Units
• Ridges, valleys and streams may be offset along a fault. The deflection
of a stream channel gives an indication of slip on the fault.
• A fault surface or a fault zone can act either as a conduit or a barrier
for groundwater depending on the permeability of the material in the
fault and on either side of the fault. If breccia is present it serves as an
excellent conduit for water but if thick gouge zone with clay minerals
is present, it serves as a barrier to flow of water. Faults may offset an
aquifer and disturb the ground water flow.
Evidence of Faulting
• Lithologic Evidence: There are many varieties of lithologic features related to
faulting. The significant among these are
• slicken sides,
• brecciation and gouge,
• shear zones,
• displacements and
• drag.
Slicken Sides
• These are parallel striations or grooves displayed by the fracture surface on which
movements have taken place. Such a slicken sided surface is usually well polished due
to frictional rubbing of one block by the other.

• The direction of movement is indicated by the trend of the striae, and the direction of
relative displacements can be determined from many slicken sided and polished
surfaces by passing the hand over the surface to find the rough and smooth
directions.
Brecciation
• The rocks are highly fractured or even crushed to angular fragments
along the faults and are called breccias. An elongated zone of
brecciation which intersects bedding is suggestive of faulting. The
fragments constituting a fault breccia are extremely variable. The
fragments may be as large as 2 or 3 metres and may be of minute size
too.
• A very fine clay-like product of fault crushing is called gouge
Shear zones
• In many cases, faults are characterized by closely spaced
fractures among which movements have been distributed.
Shear zones are suggestive evidence of faults. At many places,
due to weather action along the fracture zone is more advanced
than in the adjacent rock. Much of the difficulty in engineering
construction in fault areas arises from the altered or rotten rock
encountered.
• Since fractures provide avenues of ready percolation for
circulating waters, many mineral deposits are localized along
faults. Some faults have shear zones and are silicified by more
or less complete replacement along the zone or by a network of
quartz veins which fill the fractures.
Drag
• Drag refers to the minor folding of strata along the walls of a fault
produced by the fault displacement. For instance in an area of regular
structural attitude, one of the horizontal beds may abruptly change in
attitude indicating the drag associated with faulting. In zones of
completely folded rock evidence of drags loses importance.
Dislocations
• It is possible to observe actual dislocation of strata, veins or dikes and to match the
ends of dislocated parts along some faults of small displacements. The repetition or
missing of recognizable beds often establishes the break.
• An abrupt termination of structures like folds, beds or dikes along a common line or
zone indicates faults
Importance of Faults
• (i) Faults cause considerable damage to rocks and are therefore real hazards in mining
and engineering works.

• (ii) Fault breccia and fault gouge (pulverized rocks) have low strength and are poor
foundation materials.

• (iii) There is additional difficulty and additional expenditure in excavations since

fractured rocks are difficult to handle.

• (iv) Earthquakes and landslides are likely to be triggered by faults.

• (v) To provide earthquake proof structures it is necessary to have a knowledge of the

location and earthquake potential of faults. This is of particular importance in locating
sites for dams and reservoirs, hydropower structures, underground power, nuclear
power stations, tunnels, public buildings, school and college buildings etc.
Importance of Faults
• (vi) Filling big reservoirs behind dams across river valleys may trigger
movements along fault planes leading to earthquakes.
• (vii) Faults may create passages for water percolation. They may also
provide passages for mineralizing. Many fault zones are sites of
mineralization.
• (viii) Fault throw and fault heave constitute most salient factors in the
exploration and recovery of mineral veins and coal seams.
• (ix) Faults may create lakes, swamps and marshy zones.
• (x) Some fault zones form potential oil traps.
Impacts on structures and people
• In geotechnical engineering, a fault often forms a discontinuity that
may have a large influence on the mechanical behavior (strength,
deformation, etc.) of soil and rock masses in, for
example, tunnel, foundation, or slope construction.
• 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 in the vicinity.
Groundwater

• As faults are zones of weakness, they facilitate the interaction of

water with the surrounding rock and enhance chemical weathering.
The enhanced chemical weathering increases the size of the
weathered zone and hence creates more space for groundwater.
[30] Fault zones act as aquifers and also assist groundwater transport.