In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there

has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement. Large faults within the
Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the
boundaries between the plates, such as subduction zones or transform faults. Energy release
associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes.
A fault plane is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault
line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line
commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault.[1][2]
Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, geologists use the term fault
zone when referring to the zone of complex deformation associated with the fault plane.

Strike-slip faultsEdit

Schematic illustration of the two strike-slip fault types

In a strike-slip fault (also known as a wrench fault, tear fault or transcurrent fault),[7] the fault
surface (plane) is usually near vertical, and the footwall moves laterally either left or right with
very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are also known
as sinistral faults, and those with right-lateral motion as dextral faults.[8] Each is defined by the
direction of movement of the ground as would be seen by an observer on the opposite side of the
fault.

Dip-slip faults can be either normal ("extensional") or reverse.

Cross-sectional illustration of normal and reverse dip-slip faults

In a normal fault, the hanging wall moves downward, relative to the footwall. A downthrown
block between two normal faults dipping towards each other is a graben. An upthrown block
between two normal faults dipping away from each other is a horst. Low-angle normal faults
with regional tectonicsignificance may be designated detachment faults.
A reverse fault is the opposite of a normal fault—the hanging wall moves up relative to the
footwall. Reverse faults indicate compressive shortening of the crust. The dip of a reverse fault is
relatively steep, greater than 45°. The terminology of "normal" and "reverse" comes from coal-
mining in England, where normal faults are the most common.[9]

Oblique-slip faultsEdit

Oblique-slip fault

A fault which has a component of dip-slip and a component of strike-slip is termed an oblique-
slip fault. Nearly all faults have some component of both dip-slip and strike-slip; hence, defining
a fault as oblique requires both dip and strike components to be measurable and significant.
Some oblique faults occur within transtensional and transpressionalregimes, and others occur
where the direction of extension or shortening changes during the deformation but the earlier
formed faults remain active.

What kind of fault is the Philippine Fault Zone?

The Philippine Fault Zone, a system of left-lateral strike-slip faults traversing the length of
the PhilippineIslands, is associated with the oblique convergence between the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP)
and the Eurasian Plate (EP

What are the major fault lines in the Philippines?

There are five active fault lines in the country namely the Western Philippine Fault, the
Eastern Philippine Fault, the South of Mindanao Fault, Central Philippine Fault and the
Marikina/Valley Fault System.Apr 27, 2019