Normal fault - a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has moved downward relative to the block below. This type of faulting occurs in response to extension and is often observed in the Western United States Basin and Range Province and along oceanic ridge systems.
Normal Fault Animation
thrust fault - a dip-slip fault in which the upper block, above the fault plane, moves up and over the lower block. This type of faulting is common in areas of compression, such as regions where one plate is being subducted under another as in Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault is often described as a thrust fault.
Thrust Fault Animation
Blind Thrust Fault Animation
strike-slip fault - a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another. The San Andreas Fault is an example of a right lateral fault.
Strike-slip Fault Animation
A left-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the left when viewed from either side.
A right-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the right when viewed from either side.
Igneous Rocks
At diverging plate boundaries, convection currents bring hot magma to the surface. Sometimes, magma that gets pushed up at plate boundaries cools before it gets there. It fills in cracks and voids in the bedrock
Metamorphic Rocks
Hot magma pushes itself to the surface at both divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries. This magma comes in contact with rocks as it rises to the surface.
