GL 2101 Geologi Fisik

Geologic Structures

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Geologic Structures
Geologic structures – dynamically-produced patterns or arrangements of rock or
sediment that result from, and give information about, forces within the Earth
• produced as rocks change shape (folded or faulted) and orientation in
response to applied stress
• structural geology – the study of the shapes, arrangement, and
interrelationships of rock units and the forces that cause them
Tectonic Forces At Work
Stress and Strain in the Earth’s
Lithosphere
• Stress – force per unit area
 basic types of stress are
compressive, tensional and shear

• Strain – a change in size or shape

in response to stress
 geologic structures are indicative of
the type of stress and its rate of
application, as well as the physical
properties of the rocks or sediments
How Do Rocks Behave When Stressed?
Rocks behave as elastic, ductile or brittle materials depending on:
• amount and rate of stress application
• type of rock
• temperature and pressure
How Do Rocks Behave When Stressed?
• Elastic deformation - deformed
materials return to original shape
after stress is removed
• Elastic limit – the point
beyond which the rock
will not return to its
original shape and is
permanently deformed

• Ductile deformation – material is

bent and will not return to its
original shape once the stress is
removed

• Brittle deformation - material is

bent and will not return to its
original shape once the stress is
removed
How Do We Record and Measure Geologic Structures?
Geologic Maps and Field Methods
• Outcrops: places where bedrock is exposed
at the surface
• Geologic Maps: a map which uses
standardized symbols and patterns to
represent rock types and structures
How Do We Record and Measure Geologic Structures?

Planar features
• Examples: Tilted beds, joints, and faults
• Described by strike and dip

Strike – the compass direction of

a line formed by the intersection
of an inclined plane with a
horizontal plane
Dip – the direction and angle
from horizontal in which a plane
is oriented

Right hand rule:

Facing the strike and your right hand shows the dip
 How Do We Record and Measure Geologic Structures?

Planar features
• Examples: Tilted beds, joints, and faults
• Described by strike and dip

Geologic Cross Sections – a vertical slice

through a portion of the Earth

Strike to south,
Dip to west
Right hand rule:
Facing the strike and your right hand
shows the dip
Folds
Folds – wavelike bends in layered
rock that represent rock strained in a
ductile manner, usually under
compression

Geometry of Folds
• Anticlines – upward-arching folds
• Synclines – downward-arching
folds

• axial plane divides a fold into its two

limbs
• hinge line – surface trace of an axial
plane

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Folds
Geometry of Folds
Plunging Fold - fold in which the hinge line is not horizontal

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 Folds
Structural Domes & Basins
• Domes – structures in which the beds
dip away from a central point,
sometimes called doubly plunging
anticlines
• Basins – structures in which the beds
dip toward a central point, sometimes
called doubly plunging synclines

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Folds
Geometry of Folds
• Open – folds in which the limbs dip gently
• Isoclinal – folds with parallel limbs
Folds
Geometry of Folds
• Overturned – have limbs that dip in the same directions
• Recumbent – overturned to the point of being horizontal

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Fractures in Rock
Joints - fractures bedrock along which no
movement has occurred
• Columnar jointing – caused by contraction
of a cooling lava flow.
• Sheet jointing – caused by expansion due
to pressure release by removal of
overburden
• Joint Sets - multiple parallel joints
 Fractures in Rock: Faults
Faults - fractures in bedrock along which movement has occurred
• considered active if movement has occurred along them within the last
11,000 years
• categorized by type of movement as dip-slip (normal & reverse faults),
strike-slip, or oblique-slip
 Fractures in Rock: Faults
Dip-slip faults – movement is parallel (vertical) to the dip of the fault
plane
1) Normal faults – hanging-wall
block has moved down relative
to the footwall block due to
tensional stress
 Fractures in Rock: Faults
Dip-slip faults – movement is parallel (vertical) to the dip of the fault
plane
2) Reverse faults – hanging-wall block
has moved up relative to the footwall
block due to compressional stress
• Thrust faults – reverse faults with dip
angles less than 30° from horizontal
Fractures in Rock: Faults
Dip-Slip Faults
• Grabens – fault blocks, bounded by normal faults, that drop down
• Rifts – grabens associated with divergent plate boundaries
• Horsts – fault blocks bounded by normal faults that are uplifted
Fractures in Rock: Faults
Sinistral or dextral?
3) Strike-slip faults – have movement that is
predominantly horizontal and parallel to the
strike of the fault plane
• right-lateral strike-slip fault (dextral)
• left-lateral strike-slip fault (sinistral)

Sinistral or dextral? Sinistral or dextral?

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Fractures in Rock: Faults
4) Oblique-slip faults – have movement with both vertical and
horizontal components

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