strike-slip fault

Fault types in tectonic earthquakesTypes of faulting in tectonic earthquakes. In normal and reverse faulting, rock masses slip past each other vertically. In strike-slip faulting, they slip past each other horizontally.

strike-slip fault, in geology, a fracture in the rocks of Earth’s crust in which the rock masses slip past one another parallel to the strike, the intersection of a rock surface with the surface or another horizontal plane. These faults are caused by horizontal compression, but they release their energy by rock displacement in a horizontal direction almost parallel to the compressional force. The fault plane is essentially vertical, and the relative slip is lateral along the plane. Strike-slip faults are right lateral or left lateral, depending on whether the block on the opposite side of the fault from an observer has moved to the right or left.

San Andreas Fault
San Andreas FaultAt the San Andreas Fault in California, the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate slide past each other along a giant fracture in Earth's crust.

Strike-slip faults are widespread, and many are found at the boundary between obliquely converging oceanic and continental tectonic plates. Well-known terrestrial examples include the San Andreas Fault, which, during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, had a maximum movement of 6 metres (20 feet), and the Anatolian Fault, which, during the İzmit earthquake of 1999, moved more than 2.5 metres (8.1 feet).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.
Citation Information
Article Title: strike-slip fault
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 18 October 2024
URL: https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/science/strike-slip-fault
Access Date: November 24, 2024