Admin What is the breaking point along a fault line called?
The rupture begins at a point on the fault plane called the hypocenter, a point usually deep down on the fault. The epicenter is the point on the surface directly above the hypocenter. The rupture keeps spreading until something stops it (exactly how this happens is a hot research topic in seismology).
Where is a normal fault located?
Normal Faults: This is the most common type of fault. It forms when rock above an inclined fracture plane moves downward, sliding along the rock on the other side of the fracture. Normal faults are often found along divergent plate boundaries, such as under the ocean where new crust is forming.
What kind of faults do earthquakes occur on?
Earthquakes occur on faults – strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-slip faults, normal earthquakes occur on normal faults , and thrust earthquakes occur on thrust or reverse faults. When an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the other.
How are the different types of faulting related?
The different styles of faulting can also combine in a single event, with one fault moving in both a vertical and strike-slip motion during an earthquake. All faults are related to the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates. The biggest faults mark the boundary between two plates.
How are strike slip faults different from normal faults?
Strike-slip faults are usually vertical, while normal and reverse faults are often at an angle to the surface of the Earth. The different styles of faulting can also combine in a single event, with one fault moving in both a vertical and strike-slip motion during an earthquake.
How does a fault change the position of a rock?
Faults invariably change the original position of the outcrops traversed by them. These changes depend primarily on the type of the fault, the attitude of the fault, and the nature and attitude of the disrupted rock. Thus, effects produced by strike-slip fault shall differ markedly from those produced on the same rock by a dip-slip fault and so on.