The Earth isn't perfect. It has faults too!
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As we learned in the previous chapter, the Earth's plates interact with each other at plate boundaries. The places where the plates interact are called faults. |
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A normal fault is an interaction where the land on either side of the fault move away from each other. This leads one side to slip down. When the land slips, it can release a sudden jolt of energy we call an earthquake. |
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A reverse fault is the opposite of what happens above. Here the two pieces of land are moving towards each other. One side gets pushed over top of the other. Scientists sometimes call this a thrust fault. |
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A strike-slip fault occurs when the two sides of the fault are sliding past each other. The San Andreas Fault is an example of this, and it causes most of the earthquakes in California. |