FOLDS

and
FAULTS
FOLDS
In structural geology, a fold is a stack of
originally planar surfaces, such as
sedimentary strata, that are bent or curved
during permanent deformation. Folds in
rocks are vary in size from microscopic
crinkles to mountain-sized folds.
They occur as single isolated folds or in
periodic sets ( known as fold trains ). FOLDS
TYPES OF FOLDS
• Anticline
• Syncline
• Monocline
• Recumbent fold
• Overturned
ANTICLINE
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of
fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest
beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the
inverse of a anticline. A typical anticline is
convex up in which the hinge or crest is the
location where the curvature is greatest, and
the limbs are the sides of the fold. Anticlines
can be recognized and differentiated from
antiforms by a sequence of rock layers that
become progressively older toward the center
of the fold.
DESCRIPTIONS OF PART OF ANTICLINE

Anticlines are usually developed above

thrust faults, so any small compression and
motion within the inner crust can have large
effects on the upper rock stratum. Stresses
developed during mountain building or
during other tectonic processes can similarly
warp or bend bedding and foliation. The
shape formed will also be very dependent or
the properties and cohesion of the different
types of rock within each layer.
SYNCLINE
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with
younger layers closer to the center of the
structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of
a syncline.
A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or
synclinoria) is a large syncline with
superimposed smaller folds.
Synclines are typically a downward fold
(synform), termed a synformal syncline (i.e. a
trough), but synclines that point upwards can be
found when strata have been overturned and
folded (an antiformal syncline).
DESCRIPTION OF PARTS OF SYNCLINE

On a geologic map, synclines are

recognized as a sequence of rock layers,
with the youngest at the fold's center or
hinge and with a reverse sequence of the
same rock layers on the opposite side of
the hinge. If the fold pattern is circular or
elongate, the structure is a basin. Folds
typically form during crustal deformation as
the result of compression that
accompanies orogenic mountain building.
MONOCLINE
A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform)
is a step-like fold in rock strata
consisting of a zone of steeper dip
within an otherwise horizontal or
gently-dipping sequence
DESCRIPTION OF PARTS OF MONOCLINE

• By mild reactivation of an earlier extensional

fault during a phase of inversion causing folding in
the overlying sequence.
• As a form of fault propagation fold during
upward propagation of an extensional fault in
basement into an overlying cover sequence.
• As a form of fault propagation fold during
upward propagation of a reverse fault in
basement into an overlying cover sequence.
RECUMBENT FOLD
A recumbent fold has an essentially
horizontal axial plane. When the
two limbs of a fold are essentially
parallel to each other and thus
approximately parallel to the axial
plane, the fold is called isoclinal.
DESCRIPTION OF PARTS OF RECUMBENT FOLD

Recumbent folds are key structures in the

development of orogenic belts. They occur in a
variety of geological settings and have
different sizes and geometry. Hence, it is not
surprising that they form by several different
mechanisms giving rise to different strain
patterns in the folded layers. In all cases, a
common factor controlling the location of
these folds must be the existence of initial
perturbations in the multilayer that also
explain the asymmetry that these folds usually
have.
OVERTURNED
• A fold in which both the limbs dip in the
same direction is called an overfold or
overturned fold. The folds of this kind are
generally produced either by gravity gliding
or in a layer on minor scale that is
appreciably inclined (but less than 45
degrees) to the principal shortening direction.
. A fold whose axial plane is horizontal is
called a recumbent fold. Such folds on major
scale are common in orogenic belts.
• 
FAULTS
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures
between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the
blocks to move relative to each other. This
movement may occur rapidly, the form of an
earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form
of creep. Faults may range in length from a few
millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Most
faults produce repeated displacements over
geologic time. During an earthquake, the rock
on one side of the fault suddenly slips with
respect to the other.
TYPES OF FAULTS

•Dip slip fault

•Strike slip fault
Dip slip fault
In a normal fault, the hanging wall
moves downward, relative to
footwall. A downthrown block
between two normal faults dipping
towards each other is a graben. An
upthrown block between two
normal faults dipping away from
each other is a horst. Low-angle
normal faults with regional tectonic
significance may be designated
detachment faults.
DESCRIPTION OF PARTS OF DIP SLIP FAULT

Flat segments of thrust fault planes are

known as flats, and inclined sections of
the thrust are known as ramps. Typically,
thrust faults move within formations by
forming flats and climb up sections with
ramps.
Faults may be reactivated at a later time
with the movement in the opposite
direction to the original movement (fault
inversion). A normal fault may therefore
become a reverse fault and vice versa.
Strike slip fault
In a strike-slip fault (also knows as a
wrench fault, tear fault or
transcurrent fault), the fault surface
(plane) is usually near vertical, and the
footwall moves laterally either left or
right with very little vertical motion.
Each is defined by the direction of
movement of the ground as would be
seen by an observer on the opposite
side of the fault.
DESCRIPTION OF STRIKE SLIP FAULT

A special class of strike-slip fault is the

transform fault, when it forms a plate
boundary. This class is related to an offset in
a spreading center, such as a mid-ocean
ridge, or , less common, within continental
lithosphere, such as the Dead Sea Transform
in the Middle East or the Alpine Fault in
New Zealand. Transform faults are also
referred to as "conservative" plate
boundaries, inasmuch as lithosphere is
neither created nor destroyed.
SAN ANDREAS FAULT
San Andreas Fault, a major fracture of the Earth's crust in extreme
western North America. The fault trends northwest for more than 800
miles (1,300 km) from the northern end of the Gulf of California
through western California, U.S., passing seaward into the Pacific Ocean
in the vicinity of San Francisco. Tectonic movement along the fault has
been associated with occasional large earthquakes originating near the
surface along its path, including a disastrous quake in San Francisco in
1906, less serious event there in 1989, and the destructive quake
centered in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge in 1994 that occured
along one of the San Andreas' larger secondary faults.
 SAN ANDREAS FAULT
• History
The San Andreas Fault was born about 30 million years ago in California, when the Pacific
Plate and the North America plate first met. The new configuration meant the two plates
slid past one another instead of crashing into each other, a boundary called a strike-slip
fault.
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