What is a fault?
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
A fault is a rock fracture along which movement occurs. Normal faults develop where the crust stretches apart, as in the East African Rift Valley. In thrust faults, which are found at subduction zones, the rocks on one side of the fault are pushed up and over those on the other side. A third type of fault is the strike-slip fault, where the rocks on either side of the fault slip by each other horizontally. The San Andreas Fault is a strike-slip fault.