Physical Processes
Normal Faulting
Tectonics and Volcanism
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Normal faulting is the dip-slip motion in which the block of crust above an inclined fault plane, the hanging wall, slides downward relative to the block below, the footwall, as the crust is stretched apart under horizontal extension. It is the characteristic faulting style of continental rift zones and mid-ocean ridges, where it produces the alternating uplifted and down-dropped blocks known as horsts and grabens, the East African Rift and the Basin and Range Province of the western United States being classic large-scale examples.
Facts
Process Type TimescaleAn individual rupture is seconds; the fault system itself develops and accumulates displacement over thousands to millions of years. 1 First Proposed Year Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.