The orientation and sense of slip of faults in an area is largely dependent upon the tectonic forces present in that area. In this exercise learners are shown several idealized fault-block models and asked to interpret the sense of movement along certain fault planes within a given tectonic environment. Clicking on the images provides the correct answers. Full description.

This site shows how to make paper models representing simple faults and illustrating some of the landforms associated with faulting of the Earth's crust. Full description.

In this activity, students will learn how rock layers are folded and faulted and how to represent these structures in maps and cross sections. They will use playdough to represent layers of rock and make cuts in varying orientations to represent faults and other structures. Full description.

This virtual field trip shows students the geologic features of Enchanted Rock, a dome of Precambrian granite located in central Texas. They can see small faults, fault gouge, close-up photos showing the texture of the granite, and a variety of features produced by weathering. Full description.

This article describes the occurrence of listric normal faults (those which gradually flatten out with depth) in the continental shelf offshore Oregon and Washington, as seen in seismic reflection profiles. There is also a discussion of the faulting mechanics, the timing of uplift on the continental shelf, and the separation of compressional and extensional tectonic regimes on the lower and upper ... Full description.

This activity consists of four exercises that deal with the partitioning of slip within scenarios involving two or more faults. The first three are hypothetical situations; the last activity focuses on the plate boundary in southern California. Full description.

This activity is designed to familiarize the learner with the concepts of strike and dip, to make further studies of faults and fault models easier. It also introduces learners to a few key elements of seismology, which will be seen again later in much greater detail. Knowledge of how to solve basic trigonometric equations is needed for this activity. To describe a fault plane in simple terms, geologists ... Full description.

This is an exhaustive list of references that involve deformation bands, compiled by Steve Ahlgren. There are no links on this page; all references are given in a standard scientific bibliographic format. Full description.

This lesson introduces students to faulting from the Quaternary Period and the Holocene Epoch in the State of Idaho. They will examine a map showing the distribution of these faults and answer questions concerning groundwater circulation and earthquake potential, and determine which geologic province has the most neotectonically active faults (15,000 years or younger). Full description.

A small collection of fault gouge images from the Badwater Turtleback fault in Death Valley, California, is presented on this page. Each image is presented on a separate page with a caption. Full description.