Geol341-342 Topics

Ch. 8
Faults and Faulting • Faults on outcrop, maps, and cross sections
• Fault zones and fault rocks
• Types of faults and terminology
• Slip vs. separation
• Faults in wells
• Fault propagation

Many diagrams are from Earth Structure, van der Pluijm and Marshak, 2004
2016

Terminology Faults, fault zones, shear zones

Hanging wall
Fault Zone Shear Zone

Foot wall

(Richard et al., 2013)

Fault zone geometry depends on Vertical Fault Discontinuity

mechanical stratigraphy Role of Mechanical Stratigraphy

Fault

Wide fault zone

Shear zone

Richard et al. 2013

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 Fault damage zone definitions Fault Zone
in Granitic
Gneiss
5
7
8
4

6 (Bazalgette 2009)

Fault zone, Fault zone in

Brooks Range, Quartzites-
AK Brooks Range

Fault rocks with depth

Fault Rocks
• Gauge: non-cohesive, fine grain
Depth

• Breccia: coarse angular fragments

• Cataclasite: cohesive fragments
• Mylonite: ductile-brittle shear zone

• Fault Melt (pseudotachylite): due to friction

2
Fault scarp after an earthquake- Nevada Fault zone
breccia
in Quartzite
Brooks Range,
AK

Hydrothermal Fault Breccia Fault Melt

Mylonites= metamorphic shear Types of fault

zone rocks

Undeformed granite Shear zone granite

3
 Small Normal Faults
Oblique slip

Photo: EL Miller

Low angle fault- Whipple Mts, CA Small Thrust Fault – Moss Beach, Ca

Photo: EL Miller

Plate Boundary-San Andreas

Fault

Fault

Fence

4
Fault Striations- Slikenlines e= (L1-L0)/L0

e= 0.16

Faults Account for

Regional Strain
e= -0.16

Orientation of Fautls to the Stress Field Types of Fault and the Principal
Stresses

Normal Thrust Strike-slip

Faults are shear fractures

in an elastic solid Fault Propagation

5
 Trishear: Stress concentration at the tips
Strain in front of the fault
tip.
Fault Propagation and
associated folding

Which came first: the fault or the fold?

• Right-lateral Coulomb stress change on planes parallel to the

main fault (Stein and Lisowski, 1983).

The longer a fault, the more

displacement
it has
Evolution of
an Active
Mountain
Front

Young Mountains-Active Fault –Basin and Slot Canyon, Faulted Alluvial Fan- Death Valley
Range Province

6
 Fault on a Geological Map
Faults Symbols in Map View
Decorations are on the hanging wall

Strike-
slip Silurian

Cambrian

Normal Faults

Thrust Faults

What kind of fault is shown on this map? Map View of Faults

Slip vs. Separation
North

Separation : 2D
If layers are tilted, the map may be deceiving
Block Diagram

7
 What kind of fault is this?

How is this possible?

Faults in Seismic Reflection Data- Hope Basin, AK

Some faults are almost flat

Interpreted Seismic Data

0
Map view of normal fault

3
km

(Fossen, 2010)

8
Faulted structure contour map Normal faults from well data

Well Logging SP Log (Spontaneous Potential)

Electrical logs
Spontaneous Electrical Resistivity
Potential

9
 Thrust Fault in a Well DEPI #5639 (047-055-00226) Gamma Ray log

UNION OOLITE
(Hanging wall)

100’

PILOT KNOB
THRUST FAULT
228’ vertical displacement
UNION OOLITE
UNION OOLITE
(Foot wall)
(after Nelson, 2001)
no scale

Take Home Points

Cross-section A - A’ • Relationship of type of fault to principal
NW SE stresses
A A’ • Types of fault rocks vs. depth
PILOT KNOB

0
LITTLE
LIME ARISTA • Fault slip vs. separation
UNION
-500

-1000
PICKAWAY
DENMAR
• Recognizing faults in outcrop and in wells
-1500
PRICE
– Normal faults omit section
– Thrust faults repeat section
• Faults don’t go on for ever they are elastic
500’

Scale:
500’
dislocations

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