normal fault

[ nawr-muhl fawlt ]

noun

, Geology.

1. a fault along an inclined plane in which the upper side or hanging wall appears to have moved downward with respect to the lower side or footwall ( reverse fault ).

normal fault

1. A geologic fault in which the hanging wall has moved downward relative to the footwall. Normal faults occur where two blocks of rock are pulled apart, as by tension.
2. Compare reverse faultSee Note and illustration at fault

Word History and Origins

Origin of normal fault¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Like most faults in Arizona, it is a normal fault.

From Washington Times

At Powhatan High School, where social groups fall along the normal fault lines, students maintain friendships on either side of the political divide.

From Washington Post

The second is an extra crack, known as a normal fault, to the southwest of the strained boundary.

From Scientific American

The mouth of the canyon is at the Grand Wash Cliffs, which were formed by down-to-the-west movement on the Grand Wash normal fault starting ~17 Ma.

From Science Magazine

Previously such faults were thought to generate only about 3 percent of such tsunamis, as opposed to normal faults in which one block drops downward.

From New York Times