Faults (Geology)
Introduction
In the field of geology, a generally flat fracture in the ground along which the two blocks have slid relative to each other is called fault.
Faults are produced by tectonic stresses, including gravity and horizontal thrusts, acting on the crust. The rupture zone has a broadly well-defined surface called the failure plane, although it can be referred to as a failure band when the fracture and associated deformation have a certain width.[1].
When the faults reach a depth at which the brittle deformation domain is exceeded, they transform into shear bands, their equivalent in the ductile domain. Faulting (or fault formation) is one of the important geological processes during mountain formation. Likewise, the edges of tectonic plates are formed by faults up to thousands of kilometers in length.
Geometric fault classification
From the point of view of the relative displacement of the blocks involved, the faults are classified as:[1][2][3].
Associations of faults and tectonic structures
Contenido
Las estructuras vinculadas con las fallas dependen del tipo de régimen tectónico regional en el que se han formado. Sin embargo, hay algunas formas y términos comunes a todas ellas: es frecuente que las fallas varíen de buzamiento en su recorrido, mostrando zonas relativamente horizontales, rellanos, alternando con zonas más inclinadas, rampas. Los bloques delimitados entre rampas de fallas se denominan escamas tectónicas o horses y el apilamiento de estas escamas se denomina dúplex.[1].
In regions of tectonic extension
In a limited extension regime and in conditions of brittle deformation, systems of stepped normal faults develop, more or less parallel, which form sunken zones, called or tectonic grabens, which can alternate with elevated zones, called or tectonic pillars.[1].