Rock Deformation Structures

and Mountain Building

Earth
Portrait of a Planet
Fifth Edition

Chapter 11

Mountain Belts!
Last lecture, the term Orogeny was introduced.!
Orogeny = Mountain Building = Plate Convergence; process = Orogenesis.!
Mountains, unless a volcano above a hotspot, occur in curvilinear belts.!
The mountain belts of today are relatively young as they can be eroded away in
as little as 50 m.y.!

Mt Everest!

Mountain building involves numerous geologic

processes, including deformation, jointing, faulting,
folding, partial melting, foliation, metamorphism,
glaciation, erosion, and sedimentation.! 2
 Deformation & Strain!
Folding, Faulting,
Foliation. Brittle &
Ductile.!
Slaty cleavage
(metamorphism)
developed - flattening
Undeformed! Deformed! of clay minerals.!
Flat Lying Sediments!
Deformation!

Tilted Sediments!
Orogenesis applies force to rocks,
causing deformation (bending,
breaking, shortening, stretching, and
shearing). Change in shape via
deformation is called strain.!

Deformation & Strain!

Deformation results in !
displacement and/or distortion!

Strain = change in shape due to deformation.!

Shear! 4
 Brittle & Ductile Deformation!
Brittle: material breaks.! Ductile: material flows.!

Joint formation:!
Behavior depends on:!
• Temperature;!
• Pressure (effectively prevents rocks from separating into fragments);!
• Deformation Rate;!
• Composition (same P-T, different behavior).!
General Rule: brittle deformation <10-15 km; ductile deformation >10-15 km.! 5
Brittle deformation produces earthquakes.!

Deformation: Force & Stress!

FORCE = MASS x ACCELERATION!

In Geology, Stress = Force.!

Stress: force per unit area.!
Strain: change in shape.!

Hydrostatic Stress !

Tensional Stress !

Compressive Stress !

Shear Stress !

6
 Orientation of Structures/Beds!
Strike, Dip, and Plunge!
Means of recording bed orientation and
orientation of other planar features.!
STRIKE: angle between true north and the
horizontal line contained in any planar feature.!
DIP: The maximum angle
by which a planar feature
deviates from the
DIP!
horizontal, always
measured in the plane
perpendicular to the strike.!
Orientation where dip is
zero.!

PLUNGE: angle
between a line and
horizontal (0˚). STRIKE!
Vertical = 90˚.!
7

Orientation of Structures/Beds!

8
 Joints!
Fractures along which there has been no movement.!
Joints develop because of tension. Tension can be produced by cooling
(contraction), pressure release, bending, compression, etc. !
Systematic Joints: planar cracks that occur regularly throughout a rock body.!
A group of systematic joints = Joint Set.! Sandstone: Arches National Park, Utah!
Nonsystematic Joints: randomly spaced with
a variety of orientations.!

Joints!
In sedimentary rocks, systematic joints are typically
vertical.!

Veins: Joints filled with minerals

precipitated from groundwater.!

Geotechnical engineers avoid joints - allow

water to flow and decrease rock strength.!
10
 Faults !
Faults, like joints, are planar features - can be represented by dip and strike.!
Faulting causes offset at the Earth s surface – i.e., movement along the fault plane.!

Some faults do not reach the surface until revealed by erosion: Blind Faults.!

11

Terminology!
Faults!
Dip-Slip Faults.!
Strike-Slip Faults.!
Oblique-Slip Faults.!
On a dipping fault, the blocks are
classified as the hanging-wall block
above the fault, and the footwall
block below the fault.!

Dip-slip faults are characterized by

blocks that move parallel to the dip of the
fault. In strike-slip faults, blocks move
parallel to fault plane strike. Oblique-slip
faults have components of both dip-slip
and strike-slip faults.! 12
 Faults!
Fractures through rocks along which movement has occurred.!

Dip-Slip Faults: Subdivided into

normal (extensional) or reverse
(compressional).!
Reverse: older strata over younger -
hanging wall moves up relative to
footwall (causes a repetition of strata).!
Normal: Younger strata over older -
hanging wall moves down relative to
footwall.!

13

Faults!
Reverse faults: high angle (>35˚) compression.

Low angle (<35˚) reverse faults – thrust faults.

Can juxtapose old rock on top of younger rock –
common during orogenies. These can move
parcels of rocks 100s of km. Major compression.!
Thrust faults can transport
sheets of rock hundreds of
kilometers and are
common features at the
leading edge of orogenic
14
deformation!
 Faults!

Strike-Slip faults: dips ~90˚!

Divided into right-lateral (e.g., San Andreas) and left-lateral faults. !
Named by standing on one side of the fault line and seeing which way (right or
left) the other side has moved relative to the side you are standing on.!

Faults!

16
 Faults

Oblique-slip Faults: Contain major components

of movement parallel to both strike and slip.!

17

Recognizing Displacement!
How far has the fault moved?!

Folding prior to faulting

= Drag Folds.!

Faults can juxtapose rocks

of different strengths and
produce a Fault Scarp.
They can also create valleys.!
 Recognizing Displacement!
Faulting grinds up material along the fault plane.
Can produce a Fault Breccia, or if the material is
finely ground, Fault Gouge.!
Some fault surfaces are polished (Slickensides)
and grooved (Slip Lineations).!
Slickensides!

Ductile shearing at depth produces Mylonite.!

Slip Lineations!

Fault Systems!
A group of related faults = Fault System. Can form Horsts and Grabens .!

Grabens = Valleys!

Horsts = Uplifted
Blocks!

20
 Fault Systems!
Faults in a Fault System are related by a Compressional!
Detachment Fault .!

Extensional!

21

Folds!
Different types: !
Open folds.!
Isoclinal (tight) folds.!
Chevron folds.!
Tight, overturned folds
(one limb upside down).!
Recumbent fold (both
limbs flat, one upside
down).!

22
 Axial Surface: Surface
Folds! that divides the fold as
symmetrically as
possible (often called
the Axial Plane). !
Fold Axis: Line made by
the intersection of the
axial surface with the
beds. If axis is not
horizontal it is
plunging .!
Hinge Line: Line defining the fold axis (1D – axial plane = 2D).!
Anticline: oldest rocks in the center, beds dip away from oldest rocks. If
the age of the rocks is unknown, the structure is called an Antiform .!
Syncline: youngest rocks in the center, beds dip into youngest rocks. If
the age of the rocks is unknown, the structure is called a Synform .!

Folds!

24
Open Folds!

25

Tight Folds!
Isoclinal =!
Parallel limbs!

Chevron Folds!

Note: Axial Plane is not

vertical.!
Overturned & Recumbent Folds!
Overturned: One limb is Recumbent: both limbs approach
now the wrong way up.! horizontal. !

27

Folds!
Fold Map Symbols:
strike of axial surface 20˚

30˚
Nonplunging Folds: hinge is horizontal.! 40˚

Dips switch as you go from limb to limb.! dip of limbs or beds

ANTICLINE SYNCLINE PLUNGING

ANTICLINE

Map patterns, non-plunging folds: Repeating Beds

D C B A B C D C B A B C D C

A = OLDEST, D = YOUNGEST

28
 Folds!
Plunging Folds:
hinge is inclined.!

If the folds are plunging, anticlines point in the

direction of plunge, synclines point away:!

Sheep Mountain Anticline, WY! Plunging Syncline!

29

Domes and Basins!

Approximately circular
structures in map (plan) view.!

Domes: Beds "

dip out from center.!

Basins: Beds "

dip into center.!
30
 Forming Folds!
Flexural Folds : when a stack of layers bends, slip occurs between the layers.!

Flow Folds : rock is soft and behaves like weak plastic - develop because
different parts of the body move at different rates.!

31

Forming Folds!
Some layers
Shear stress can
wrinkle or
gradually moves one
buckle in response
part of a layer up over
to end-on pressure.!
another part.!

Rock layer folds, but Block of basement

over bends and a moves and bends the
fault is formed.! overlying strata.!

32
 Tectonic Foliation!
Deformation can create Different rock types require
inequant grains and align different metamorphic
them parallel with each conditions in order to
other. This process produce foliation. Some
produces Tectonic might not ever produce
Foliation.! foliation.!

Slaty cleavage: clay minerals

align perpendicular to the
end-on stress - foliation may
be parallel to fold axes.!

Tectonic Foliation!
Schists and gneisses are produced by shear - foliation can be parallel to or at a
slight angle to the shear direction because shear tends to smear grains out into the
plane of shearing.!

34
 Rocks Formed During Orogeny!
All types: magmatism
promoted by subduction. !
Metamorphism promoted by
temperature and pressure.!
Sedimentary rocks formed
through erosion of uplifted
arc/mountain range.!

35

Principle of Isostasy !
Mountain ranges commonly
have a root that protrudes into
the mantle.!
Orogeny shortens crust, but
thickens it.!
If no root, mountain ranges
would not be as high - Principle
of Isostasy.!

Lithosphere bends, but asthenosphere flows! 36

 Principle of Isostasy !
= Isostatic Equilibrium!

37

Principle of Isostasy !
After plate convergence
stops, relaxing the
compressive force, there is
a long period of uplift and
erosion.!
Isostasy:. Concept –
lighter, less dense
continental crust floats
higher on the mantle than
the denser oceanic crust.!

Mountains still rise after

collision is over. !

38
 Mountain Shape !
Mountains are shaped by weathering and erosion and depends upon: !
!Rock type, Climate, Geologic Structure, Time.!
Mountains are erosional features.!
Geologic structure can affect the shape of a mountain.!
Cuesta!
Cuesta: asymmetric ridge underlain by
dipping strata.!
Hogback: strata are more steeply dipping
so the mountain is more symmetric.!

Orogenic Collapse: Weight of

mountain causes warm crust at depth
to flow laterally. This takes time
because rock are slow to heat up.!
This, together uplift and erosion,
forms the process of exhumation
that brings metamorphic and plutonic
rocks to the surface.! 39

Mountain Building !
Accretionary Orogens: Exotic terranes are accreted to the edges of shields. These
are blocks of unrelated continental material.!

Collisional Orogen: Two continents collide.!

40
 Mountain Building !
Rifting: produces fault-block
mountains through normal
faulting with half grabens in
between.!

Regional Basins and Regional Domes: Broad areas

that gradually sank and rose, respectively. Process that
generate these huge (but gentle ) broad vertical
movements in mid-continents = epeirogeny .!

41

Mountain Building !
Continental Collision – folding and faulting – crustal shortening/thickening!

42
 What Goes Up…..!
Mountains reflect a balance between
uplift and erosion. Mountains are
steep and jagged due to high rates of
erosion. !
!

When tectonic uplift slows or

ceases, or rates of erosion
exceed rates of uplift,
mountains are reduced in
elevation. Eventually,
mountains may be eroded back
to sea level.!

……Must Come Down!!

The weight of mountains eventually
overwhelms the strength of hot
ductile rock in the lower crust.
Ductile rock eventually flows out
from beneath high mountains,
which then settles downward like
soft cheese. !
Orogenic Collapse!

The upper brittle crust breaks into faults. This process, which leads to destruction of
the mountains, is known as Orogenic Collapse.!
 History of the Appalachian Mountains!
~1 Ga (Panotia)!
~370 Ma!
~600 Ma!
~270 Ma!
600 to!
420 Ma! ~180 Ma!

~420 Ma!

Summary!
Mountain Belts.!
Deformation & Strain: Folding, Faulting, Foliation, Translation, Tilting, Stretching,
Shortening, Shear.!
Brittle & Ductile Deformation.!
Force & Stress: Hydrostatic, Compressive, Tensional, Shear.!
Strike, Dip, Plunge.!
Joints: Systematic and Nonsystematic, Veins.!
Faults: Blind, Dip-Slip, Strike-Slip, Oblique-Slip.!
Dip-Slip: Normal, Reverse (>35˚), Thrust (<35˚).!
Strike-Slip: Left Lateral, Right Lateral.!
Recognizing Displacement: Drag Folds, Fault Scarp, Fault Breccia, Fault Gouge,
Slickensides, Slip Lineations, Mylonite.!
Fault Systems: Horst, Graben, Detachment Fault.!

46
 Summary (cont.)!
Folds: Open, Isoclinal (Tight), Chevron, Overturned, Recumbent, Fold Axis, Axial
Surface/Plane, Hinge Line, Anticline, Syncline.!
Plunging & Nonplunging Folds.!
Domes & Basins.!
Flexural Folds & Flow Folds.!
Tectonic Foliation.!
Principle of Isostasy.!
Mountain Shape: Rock Type, Climate, Structure, Time, Cuesta, Hogback, Orogenic
Collapse, Exhumation.!
Mountain Building: Accretionary Orogens, Collisional Orogens, Rifting, Regional
Basins, Regional Domes, Epeirogeny.!
History of the Appalachians.!

47