Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-year-2-of-the-earth-sciences-geology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/paper-1/1/a/solution

A normal fault is the plausible interpretation. The photograph shows a steep, exposed planar rock face with lower ground on its open side; this geometry is consistent with an exhumed footwall and a down-dropped hanging wall. A steep dip alone is not a unique indicator of shear sense, and the photograph does not supply a displaced marker proving the sense independently. Under an Andersonian faulting regime, a plausible maximum compression is approximately vertical, with horizontal in the extension direction and approximately along strike.

New to topics? Read the docs here!