Strike-slip faults

A strike-slip fault is caused by in-situ stress conditions in which

$$\left\lbrace \begin{array}{l} S_1 = S_{Hmax} \\ S_2 = S_v \\ S_3 = S_{hmin} \\ \end{array}\right.$$ (5.5)

These stress conditions are typical of high compressive tectonic strains mostly in one direction. Some sedimentary basins around the Rockies and near California are under strike slip regime. The fault plane is a shear rupture plane and it is vertical. Its orientation is $(\pi/4 + \varphi/2)$ in horizontal direction from a vertical plane perpendicular to $S_{Hmax}$. The schematic in Fig. 5.15 shows an oblique fault, not a pure strike-slip fault. The fault is called strike-slip, because it slips in horizontal direction, in the direction of the fault strike. Notice that oblique faults move with a combination of vertical and horizontal displacements.

Figure 5.15: Strike-slip fault example.