Normal Faults

Extensional Tectonics
 Tectonic Settings for Extension
Divergent plate motions
Gravitational collapse
Over-thickened crust
Continental margins
Salt Domes
Extensional Tectonics
Divergent Boundary
Normal Faults, rifts
Continental
Extension
Divergent Boundaries
Continental Plate Separation
Parallel valleys; volcanoes and earthquakes.

East African
Rift Valley

Soma
la te li Sub
an P plate
Afri c
Rifts
Bounded by
normal faults
Back Arc extension
Extension of the lithosphere 1
Extension of the lithosphere 2
 Lithospheric Extension
Thinning of the lithosphere
Normal faulting at the surface
High heat flow (rinsing of the isotherms)
Thermal subsidence - > sedimentary basins
North Sea Extensional Basin
Pure shear vs. simple shear
systems
Gravitational Collapse of Mt.
Belts
Basin and
Range
Province
New Mountains-Active Fault Basin and
Range Province
Two modes of extension
 Sandbox- Block rotation

Sand above plasticine

Block Rotation
Domino block rotation in the Basin and Range
Listric (curved) Faults- roll over
anticlines
Small roll-overs
 Sedimentation during faulting
Growth faulting

Animation by R. Allmendinger
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/faculty/RWA/movies/
 Curved faults Block rotation
0
Growth Strata

3
km
Gulf of
Mexico
Passive Margin
Gulf of
Mexico
Salt
Extension Above Salt Diapir
Transfer zone in a rift
Successivegenerationsof
normalfaults

Olderfaultsrotateandbecome
inactive
Newfaultscrosscutthem
Result=largemagnitudeextension