strike-slip fault

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | 700+ words | Copyright

strike-slip fault (wrench fault, tear fault, transcurrent fault) A fault in which the major displacement is horizontal and parallel to the strike of a vertical or subvertical fault plane. Movements along such a fault may be dextral or sinistral. Localized zones of deformation due to pressures and tensions across the fault occur at bends in the fault strike and give rise to the formation of pull-apart basins and grabens, which are rhombic in shape. Flower structures are also recognized features of such regimes. There are certain geometrical similarities between strike-slip faults and transform faults, but also significant differences (e.g. displacement along the fault plane is equal and unlimited in a transform fault but not in a strike-slip fault). See TRANSPRESSION; and TRANSTENSION.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "strike-slip fault." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "strike-slip fault." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-strikeslipfault.html

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