Chapter11Section1.ppt

Faults, continued Strike-Slip Faults In a strike-slip fault, the rock on either side of the fault plane slides horizontally in response to shear stress. Strike-slip faults got their name because they slide, or slip, parallel to the direction of the length, or strike, of the fault. Strike-slip faults commonly occur at transform boundaries. They also occur at fracture zones between offset segments of mid-ocean ridges. Commonly, strike-slip faults occur as groups of smaller faults in areas where large-scale deformation is happening. Faults, continued Sizes of Faults Like folds, faults vary greatly in size. Some faults are so small that they affect only a few layers of rock in a small region. Other faults are thousands of kilometers long and may extend several kilometers below Earth’s surface. Large faults that cover thousands of kilometers are composed of systems of many smaller, related faults. Faults, continued The diagram below shows the major types of faults Deformation of the Crust Section 1 Section 1: How Rock Deforms Preview Key Ideas Isostasy Stress Strain Folds Faults Hanging Walls and Footwalls Key Ideas Summarize the principle of isostasy. Identify the three main types of stress. Compare folds and faults. Isostasy Deformation the bending , tilting, and breaking of Earth’s crust; the change in the shape of rock in response to stress Deformation can occur when the weight of some part of Earth’s crust changes. When the lithosphere thickens and becomes heavier, it sinks deeper into the asthenosphere. When the lithosphere thins and becomes lighter, it rises higher in the asthenosphere. Isostasy, continued The force due to gravity presses the lithosphere down on the asthenosphere. The buoyant force of the asthenosphere presses up on the lithosphere. Isostasy - a condition of gravitational and buoyant equilibrium between Earth’s lithosphere and asthenosphere When the weight of the lithosphere changes, the lithosphere sinks or rises until a balance is reac