You are walking along and find a fault in an outcrop of rocks. In looking at the fault, you notice that the footwall of the fault has been thrust upward in relation to the down-dropped hanging wall. Is this fault a normal fault or a reverse fault?

Question

Geography

Leila Casey

8 June, 13:57

You are walking along and find a fault in an outcrop of rocks. In looking at the fault, you notice that the footwall of the fault has been thrust upward in relation to the down-dropped hanging wall. Is this fault a normal fault or a reverse fault?

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Answers (1)

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Erika · Answer 1

Normal fault

Explanation:

Normal faults are defined as those faults in which the hanging wall goes down relative to the footwall. This fault occurs due to the tensional stress, that pulls the two blocks apart. Due to this shifting of the blocks, earthquakes are generated. Normal faults are also known as inclined fault or gravity fault. One of the best examples of this type of fault is the San Andreas fault in California.

So in the given data, the footwall block appears to be at the top in relation to the hanging wall, so this fault is definitely a normal fault.