Strike-Slip Faults
Where the fault plane is vertical and the movement along the fault is horizontal - parallel to the strike of the fault plane.
These faults are often large-scale structures, with large displacements. There are two main types: tear faults and transform faults

Tear Faults
Result of shearing forces. Example is Great Glen Faultin the Highlands of Scotland. This fault is thought to have a displacement of around 100km and was produced as part of the formation of the Caledonian mountains. One piece of evidence used to recognise tjos fault is the existence of two granite bodies on either side, which are similar in composition, age and structure. These granites are now located at either end of the Great Glen on opposite sides of the fault.

When describing a tear fault, the terms dextral and sinistral are used. These terms reflect the sense of movement along a fault plane. If the block on the opposite side of the fault has moved to the right it is dextral and if it has moved to the left it is sinistral.

Transform Faults
Associated with plate margins and often described as conservative plate margins. Common at right angles to a MOR. They can be thousands of kilometers long. They are the result of different rates of movement within a plate and allow the rigid plates to adjust for these differences in the rate of movement. Superficially they resemble tear faults but when the movements along the fault plane are considered, they are clearly a different type of fault.

	Created by siobhan.quirk over 11 years ago

Undergraduate Geology - Part 1 (Geological Structures) Note on Faults, created by siobhan.quirk on 13/05/2013.