Hanging Wall Footwall Normal Fault

An upthrown block between two normal faults dipping away from each other is a horst.

Hanging wall footwall normal fault.

Normal faults are common. 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. Normal dip slip faults are produced by vertical compression as earth s crust lengthens. Other articles where normal fault is discussed.

The hanging wall slides down relative to the footwall. Any fault plane can be completely described with two measurements. Its strike and its dip. The strike is the direction of the fault.

Low angle normal faults with regional tectonic significance may be designated detachment faults. In a normal fault the hanging wall moves downward relative to the footwall. A n fault forms when the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall a. They bound many of the mountain ranges of the world and many of the rift valleys found along spreading margins.

Two parallel normal faults form. If the hanging wall drops relative to the footwall you have a normal fault. Normal faults occur in areas undergoing extension stretching. 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.

Formed by compressional stress rocks are pushed towards each other thrust fault. The hanging wall moves down relative to the foot wall. 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. A downthrown block between two normal faults dipping towards each other is a graben.

When the fault plane is vertical there is no hanging wall or footwall. Normal fractures in rock with no offset where there has been no motion are called. The hanging wall on the left slides down relative to the footwall. Formed by tensional stress rocks are stretched away from each other reverse fault.