Hanging Wall And Footwall Normal Fault

Where the fault plane is sloping as with normal and reverse faults the upper side is the hanging wall and the lower side is the footwall.

Hanging wall and footwall normal fault.

Are exactly the opposite of normal faults. With compressional forces the hanging wall moves upward relative to the footwall. An upthrown block between two normal faults dipping away from each other is a horst. The strike is the direction of the fault.

If the hanging wall drops relative to the footwall you have a normal fault. If the hanging wall rises relative to the footwall you have a reverse fault. They bound many of the mountain ranges of the world and many of the rift valleys found along spreading margins. Normal faults occur in areas undergoing extension stretching.

In a normal fault the hanging wall moves downward relative to the footwall. Normal faults are common. A downthrown block between two normal faults dipping towards each other is a graben. Low angle normal faults with regional tectonic significance may be designated detachment faults.

When the fault plane is vertical there is no hanging wall or footwall. The hanging wall on the left slides down relative to the footwall. Two parallel normal faults form. Normal fractures in rock with no offset where there has been no motion are called.

A type of fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall and the fault surface dips steeply commonly from 50 o to 90 o groups of normal faults can produce horst and graben topography or a series of relatively high and low standing fault blocks as seen in areas where the crust is rifting or being pulled apart by plate tectonic activity. Reverse faults occur in areas undergoing compression squishing. This type of fault is referred to as a fault. Which fault will see the hanging wall move down relative to the footwall.

A normal fault occurs when the hanging wall moves relative to the footwall. Normal dip slip faults are produced by vertical compression as earth s crust lengthens. Its strike and its dip. The hanging wall slides down relative to the footwall.

What is a reverse fault. If you imagine undoing the motion of a normal fault you will undo the stretching and thus shorten the horizontal distance between two points on either side of the fault. Other articles where normal fault is discussed.