Hanging Wall Vs Footwall Faults

Where the fault plane is sloping as with normal and reverse faults.

Hanging wall vs footwall faults.

The main components of a fault are 1 the fault plane 2 the fault trace 3 the hanging wall and 4 the footwall. Before getting into the different types of faults you must understand the difference between a hanging wall and a footwall. Other articles where hanging wall is discussed. In a non vertical fault where the fault plane dips the footwall is the section of the fault that lies under the fault while the hanging wall lies over the fault the names come about from the.

The dip of a reverse fault is relatively steep greater than 45. It is a flat surface that may be vertical or sloping. In an ideal cirque the headwall is semicircular in plan view. The terminology of normal and reverse comes from coal mining in england where normal faults are the most common.

You can hang something from the hanging wall as if it were a ceiling. The fault plane is where the action is. This situation however is generally found only in cirques cut into flat plateaus. Block below is called the footwall.

Hanging wall definition the underside of the wall rock overlying a vein or bed of ore. Reverse faults indicate compressive shortening of the crust. More common are headwalls angular in map view due to irregularities in height along. The line it makes on the earth s surface is the fault trace.

The fault strike is the direction of the line of intersection between the fault plane and earth s surface. An arcuate cliff called the headwall. The hanging wall is the block of rock above the fault line. The dip of a fault plane is its angle of inclination measured from the horizontal.