Faults

Faults are fractures within rock that show evidence of movement. This movement means that faults prove the Earth is an active place. They are signs of powerful forces deep underground. Faults occur on a wide scale, ranging in length from millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Large-scale faults result from the movement of tectonic plates. The tectonic stresses caused by plate motions build up over time and eventually cause breaks in the crust of the Earth along which the rocks sporadically grind past one another. When this happens, earthquakes occur. Faults are created by stress in the earth’s crust. Rocks can experience three different kinds of stress: tension, compression, and shearing. Tension pulls rocks apart, pushing opposite sides away from each other. Compression squeezes rocks, pushing opposite sides toward each other. Shearing pushes opposite sides past each other in opposite directions. These different kinds of stress create different classes of faults. Two......

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Title: Faults
Approximate Word Count: 337
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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