Faulting is essentially a process of rupturing and displacement along the plane of rupture.

Its effect may involve:

• Changes in the elevation of the ground,
• Omission of some strata where they are normally expected,
• Repetition of some strata in a given direction against the normal order of superposition, and,
• Displacements and shifts in the continuity of the same rocks in certain regions.

In faults of some magnitude, it needs lot of fieldwork involving extensive mapping on the exposed outcrops and also geophysical measurements for establishing contacts of different types of rocks. Geological maps confirm the presence of faults and their impact on rocks, providing certainty in their existence.

• The faulting patterns can have enormous economic importance.
• Faults can control the movement of groundwater, they can exert a strong influence on the distribution of mineralisation and the subsurface accumulations of hydrocarbons.
• And they can have a major influence on the shaping of the landscape.
• Movement on faults, with earthquakes, shatters rocks.

Effect of Faulting On Topography:

• Faults often lead to the formation of steep slopes known as fault scarps, significantly impacting the topography. Three types of fault associates scarps are often recognizes as– fault scarps, fault-line scarps and composite-fault scarps.
• In fault scarps, the relief is develop due to downward slip along the fault surface.
• In fault-line scarps, slope relief is created by uneven erosion along the fault line over time.
• When a given slope is the result of both of these processes, the scarp is of a composite type.
• Besides fault scarps, faulting is also responsible for development of Block Mountains like horsts and deep elongated valleys called the grabens and the rift valleys.

Effects of Faults,Effects of Faults

Read Also :Classification of Faults