GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES

Interpreting Structures

Understanding the formation of geologic structures in a region is important in reconstructing its

geologic history. Generally, the greater the number of structures, the more complex the geologic
history. Structures often offset, rearrange, or bury blocks of bedrock, making geologic
interpretation more difficult. Understanding geologic structures is important not only to those in
academic fields, but to those in industrial andengineering fields as well. Knowing the structural
history of an area is important for finding petroleum and metallic ore bodies and for determining
rock stability (for example, in order to locate dams and nuclear reactors on structurally stable
bedrock).

Structural events are often inferred from how the bedrock has moved. For example, thelaw of
original horizontality suggests that sedimentary rocks were deposited as flat‐lyinglayers on a
relatively horizontal surface. If these rocks are now exposed at the surface and are still flat‐lying,
it can be concluded that they were uplifted by an evenly applied tectonic force. If they are tilted
in one direction, it can be concluded that the uplifting stress was greater at one end and pushed
the layers into an inclined position.
Occasionally, although the bedrock is horizontally layered, the sedimentary structuresand age
relationships shown by fossils indicate the top layer is the oldest—this arrangement indicates
that somehow the entire sequence has been overturned by tectonic forces and what was the
oldest layer on the bottom is now on top.

Mapping in the Field

The ease with which structural geology can be understood is largely dependent on howmuch of
the bedrock is available for study. In areas such as northern Canada, where much of the bedrock
has been exposed by glaciation, as much as 75 percent of the bedrock can be walked on and
studied. Alternatively, in the southeastern United States,often less than 10 percent of the bedrock
is exposed because of abundant weathering, soil cover, and vegetation. Reconstructing the
geologic history of an area can be especially challenging (and creative) if little rock is exposed.

Geologists try to find all the bedrock exposures, or outcrops, in an area to construct a geologic
map. They identify rock types, relationships, textures, features (such as cross‐ bedding), and
structures (such as folds and faults) as well as cross‐cutting relationshipsof intrusive rocks, rock
mineral contents, and fossils. Detailed directional measurementsalong structures, when plotted
on a map, can reveal a bigger picture of how the rocks have been folded and faulted.

One of the most useful measurements is the strike and dip of a tilted rock unit (Figure 1). The
strike of the unit is the direction (compass bearing) of the line formed by the intersection of the
tilted bedding plane with the horizontal plane. The dip angle is the angle between the horizontal
plane and the tilted bedding plane. Compasses equipped with a device called an inclinometer
can determine the dip angle. The direction of dip isalways perpendicular to the strike direction.
For example, in Figure the rock strikes
 GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
north‐south and dips 25 degrees to the east. A rock that is perfectly flat‐lying has no strike
direction and no dip. A rock unit that has been tilted into a vertical position has amaximum dip
of 90 degrees.

Figure 1: Strike and Dip

A plan (two‐dimensional) geologic map shows the locations and shapes of the outcrops at an
appropriate scale and indicates, through a variety of geologic symbols, features such as folds,
faults, contacts between different rock units, and strike and dip.A geologic cross section, a
vertical slice across the map area, can be constructed from the structural information on a
geologic map. It depicts the spatial relationships ofthe rock units and structures beneath the
surface (Figure). A cross section supplies a third dimension to the plan geologic map. A good
geologic map is critical to understanding and interpreting structures, when they formed, and
how they fit into the overall geologic picture.

Figure 2: A Vertical Cross Section

Folding

A layered rock that exhibits bends is said to be folded. The layered rock was at one time
uniformly straight but was stressed to develop a series of arches and troughs. A compressive
stress compacts horizontal rock layers and forces them to bend vertically,forming fold patterns.

Anticlines and synclines. An anticline is a fold that is arched upward to form a ridge;a
syncline is a fold that arches downward to form a trough (Figure). Anticlines and synclines are
usually made up of many rock units that are folded in the same pattern.
The tip of a fold is called the nose. The center axis of a fold is called the hinge line andlies in
the axial plane that separates the rocks on one side of the fold from the rocks onthe other side
that dip in the opposite direction. Extensive folding is represented by a repeated pattern of
anticlines and synclines. Two anticlines are always separated by a syncline, and two synclines
are always separated by an anticline. One side of the fold iscalled the limb; a side‐by‐side
syncline and anticline share a limb. Frequently, an anticline or syncline can be identified only
from the systematic change in the dips of thesloping rock units from one direction to the other,
identifying the hinge line of the fold (Figure 1).

Figure 1: An Anticline and a Syncline

Plunging folds. Plunging folds have been tipped by tectonic forces and have a hingeline not
horizontal in the axial plane. The angle between the horizontal and the hinge line is called the
plunge and, like dip, varies from less than 1 degree to 90 degrees.
Plunging folds characteristically show a series of V patterns on a bedrock surface(Figure 2).
Figure 2 : A Plunging Anticline

Structural domes and basins. A structural dome, a variety of anticline, is a feature inwhich
the central area has been warped and uplifted and all the surrounding rock units dip away from
the center. Similarly, a structural basin is a variation of syncline in whichall the beds dip
inward toward the center of the basin. Basins and domes can be as large as 100 kilometers
across.

Open, isoclinal, overturned, and recumbent folds. A variety of kinds of folds generally
reflects increasing amounts of tectonic stress (Figure). An open fold is abroad feature in
which the limbs dip at a gentle angle away from the crest of the
fold. Isoclinal folds have undergone greater stress that has compressed the limbs of the folds
tightly together. The limbs of overturned folds’ dip in the same direction, indicating that the
upper part of the fold has overridden the lower part. Depending on where the exposure is in an
overturned fold, the oldest strata might actually be on top ofthe sequence and be misinterpreted
as the youngest rock unit. Recumbent folds, found in areas of the greatest tectonic stress, are
folds that are so overturned that the limbs are essentially horizontal and parallel.
Figure 3: Folds

Fracturing

A rock fractures if it is hard and brittle and subjected to sudden strain that overcomesits
internal crystalline bonds. If the rock has been displaced along a fracture, such as having one
side that is moved up or down, the fracture is called a fault, and if there isno displacement
along the crack, the fracture is called a joint.

Faults. Horizontal or vertical displacement along the fault plane can range from a few
centimeters to hundreds of kilometers. The fault can be merely a crack between the twosides of
rock, or it can be a fault zone hundreds of meters wide that consists of rock that has been very
fractured, brecciated, and pulverized from repeated grinding movements along the fault plane.
The broken material within a fault is called fault gouge. The rocks within a fault zone may also
be hydrothermally altered or veined fromhot solutions that have migrated up the fault zone. A
fault is generally considered activeif movement has occurred along it during the past 10,000
years.

Fault movements. Three kinds of fault movements are recognized: dip‐slip, strike‐slip, and
oblique‐slip. Movement in a dip‐slip fault is parallel to the dip of the fault plane in an “up” or
“down” direction between the two blocks. The block that underlies an inclined dip‐slip fault is
called the footwall; the block that rests on top of the inclined fault plane is called the hanging
wall. A normal dip‐slip fault, or normal fault, is one in which thehanging wall block has
slipped down the fault plane relative to the footwall block.
A reverse dip‐slip fault is just the opposite: the hanging wall block has moved upwardrelative
to the footwall block (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Dip‐Slip Faults

The blocks on either side of a strike‐slip fault move horizontally in relation to eachother,
parallel to the strike of the fault. If a person is standing at the fault and looks across to see that a
feature has been displaced to the left, it is called a left‐lateral strike‐slip fault. A right‐lateral
strike‐slip fault is one in which the displacement appears to the right when looking across the
fault (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Strike‐Slip Faults

If the fault blocks show both horizontal and vertical displacement, the fault is termedan
oblique‐slip.

A graben is formed when a block that is bounded by normal faults slips downward, usually
because of a tensional force, creating a valley-like depression. A horst results when a block that is
bounded by normal faults experiences a tensional force that forcesthe block upward, forming
mountainous terrain (Figure 3).
Figure 3: A Graben and Horst

Thrust faults are reverse dip‐slip faults in which the hanging wall block has overridden the
footwall block at a very shallow angle for tens of kilometers. The hanging wall block and
footwall block of a thrust fault are typically called the upper plate and lower plate,
respectively (Figure 4).

Figure 4: A Thrust Fault

Joints. Joints are generally the result of a rock mass adjusting to compressive or tensional stress
or cooling. A joint set is composed of a series of roughly parallel jointsthat occur in one
direction. Tensional stress usually results in a single joint orientation that is perpendicular to the
direction of stress. Compressive stress often generates twocross‐cutting joint sets.

Unconformities

An unconformity is a contact between two rock units in which the upper unit is usually much
younger than the lower unit. Unconformities are typically buried erosional surfaces that can
represent a break in the geologic record of hundreds of millions of years or more. For example,
the contact between a 400‐million‐year‐old sandstone that was deposited by a rising sea on a
weathered bedrock surface that is 600 million years old is an unconformity that represents a
time hiatus of 200 million years. The sedimentand/or rock that was deposited directly on the
bedrock during that 200‐million‐year spanwas eroded away, leaving the “basement” surface
exposed. There are three kinds of unconformities: disconformities, nonconformities, and angular
unconformities.

Disconformities. Disconformities (Figure 1) are usually erosional contacts that are parallel to
the bedding planes of the upper and lower rock units. Since disconformitiesare hard to
recognize in a layered sedimentary rock sequence, they are often discovered when the fossils in
the upper and lower rock units are studied. A gap in thefossil record indicates a gap in the
depositional record, and the length of time the disconformity represents can be calculated.
Disconformities are usually a result of erosion but can occasionally represent periods of non-
deposition.
Figure 1: A Disconformity

Nonconformities. A nonconformity (Figure 2) is the contact that separates a younger

sedimentary rock unit from an igneous intrusive rock or metamorphic rock unit. A
nonconformity suggests that a period of long‐term uplift, weathering, and erosion occurred to
expose the older, deeper rock at the surface before it was finally buried by the younger rocks
above it. A nonconformity is the old erosional surface on the underlying rock.

Figure 2: A Nonconformity

Angular unconformities. An angular unconformity (Figure) is the contact that separates a

younger, gently dipping rock unit from older underlying rocks that are tilted or deformed
layered rock. The contact is more obvious than a disconformity because the rock units are not
parallel and at first appear cross‐cutting. Angular unconformities generally represent a longer
time hiatus than do disconformities because the underlyingrock had usually been
metamorphosed, uplifted, and eroded before the upper rock unit was deposited.
Figure 3: An Angular Unconformity

Geologic Structures Defined

Geologic structures are usually the result of the powerful tectonic forces that occur within the
earth. These forces fold and break rocks, form deep faults, and build mountains. Repeated
applications of force—the folding of already folded rocks or the faulting and offsetting of
already faulted rocks—can create a very complex geologic picture that is difficult to interpret.
Most of these forces are related to plate tectonic activity. Some of the natural resources we
depend on, such as metallic ores and petroleum, often form along or near geologic structures.
Thus, understanding the originof these structures is critical to discovering more reserves of our
nonrenewable resources.

Structural geology is the study of the processes that result in the formation of geologic
structures and how these structures affect rocks. Structural geology deals with a varietyof
structural features that can range in size from microscopic (such as traces of earlier folds after
multiple events of deformation have occurred) to large enough to span the globe (such as
midoceanic ridges).

Tectonic Forces

Rocks are under stress when they are subjected to a force at depth. When the rocksare exposed
at the surface after uplift and erosion, the effects of the stress can be studied. Stressed rocks
show varying degrees of strain—the change in the volume and/or shape of the rock because of
that stress. For example, a volcanic agglomeratemay be compacted and its pyroclastic fragments
stretched (strained) in response to atectonic stress, such as compression.

Stresses.

Three kinds of stress can be applied to rocks: tensional, compressive, and

shear. Tensional stress occurs when a rock is subjected to forces that tend to elongateit or pull it
apart; a rock that has experienced tensional stress tends to be narrower and longer than its
original shape, like a piece of gum or taffy that has been pulled.
A compressive stress on a rock is applied from opposite sides and has a tendency toshorten
(compress) the rock between the opposing stresses, which may also stretch it parallel to the stress‐
free direction. A shear stress results when forces from opposite directions create a shear plane in
an area in which the forces run parallel to one
another. The scale of shear stress can vary from a few centimeters to hundreds ofmeters.

Strains.
When subjected to stress, a rock can undergo one of three kinds of deformation (strain): elastic,
brittle, or plastic. Deformation is called elastic strain if the body of rock returns to its previous
shape after the stress has been removed. A good example is the slow rebound of the North
American crust after having been down warped by the great weight of the Pleistocene
glaciers. Brittle strain occurs when the stress is great enough to break (fracture) the
rock. Plastic strain results in a permanent change in the shape of the rock. A ductile rock is
one that “flows plastically” in response to stress. Whether the strain is plastic or brittle depends
on both the magnitude of the stress and how quickly the stress is applied. A great stress that is
slowly applied often folds rocks into tight, convoluted patterns without breaking them.