What is Faulting?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
Faulting is defined as the Earth’s crust entirely fracturing and sliding over each other. Rocks on a fault might drive in opposite directions. The friction seals them as the overlaying rock layer presses them. Fault movement can happen quickly, as in an earthquake, releasing a lot of energy. A creep is a gradual movement that occurs along a fault.
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Faulting Definition
Over geologic time, most faults cause repeated displacements. Faulting creates block cliffs and river valleys such as the Narmada and Tapi. The fault surface can be level, upright, or angled at random. Faulting is a crucial geological process that is useful in predicting future earthquakes and their intensity. Hence, it can even help in mitigating the hazard beforehand.
For the classification of various types of faulting, the fault angle of the surface or dip and the slip direction must be investigated. Now that you know what is a fault, you must learn about the different types.
Types of Faulting
The information below provides a quick overview of three forms of faulting based on how rocks slide over one another:
| Types of Faults | Description |
| Dip-slip faults | Move along the path of the dip plane, either reverse or regular. |
| Strike-slip faults | Move parallelly; they may be right-lateral or left-lateral. |
| Oblique-slip faults | Display both dip-slip and strike-slip movement. |
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