EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES

A. What do we mean by mass wasting?

- If a rock slides off of a mountain and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, I don't know
about the noise this activity would create, but I do know that mountains erode and that rocks and debris can
slide and fall down mountain slopes in massive amounts. In this lesson, you will learn about a process called
mass wasting and the factors that cause this movement of material.

Mass wasting, which is sometimes called mass movement or slope movement, is defined as the large movement
of rock, soil and debris downward due to the force of gravity. In other words, the earth's outer crust is being
'wasted' away on a 'massive' scale and falling to lower elevations.

Mass wasting is a type of erosion, and it is capable of making big changes to the side of a mountain. These
changes can happen suddenly, as in one minute the rock is there and the next it is gone, or it can happen more
slowly over time. You might think of this process as a landslide, and this term is sometimes used interchangeably
with mass wasting. However, the term landslide is a bit limiting and does not allow for a description of the many
different triggers and types of erosion that can happen on this large of a scale.

B. Explain and discuss the following:

Stress

- Stress is the force applied to an object. In geology, stress is the force per unit area that is placed on a rock. Four
types of stresses act on materials. Stress caused these rocks to fracture.

Deformation

- The rocks that make up mountains have a great variety of lines and swirls that make them unique and
beautiful. Have you ever wondered how hard rocks get their patterns? Deformation is any process that affects the
shape, size, or volume of an area of the Earth's crust. The type of deformation that occurs depends on the type of stress
and the type of rock present in the area of the Earth's crust that you are observing.

Compression

- Compressive or compressional stress squeezes rocks together. The opposite of tensional stress, compressive
stress happens at convergent plate boundaries, in which two tectonic plates are plowing into each other. Powerful
earthquakes tend to strike areas where compressive stress is at work, such as in Chile where the Nazca and South
American plates are smashing into each other, or near Japan where the Eurasian plate and Philippine plates are
ramming against one another.

Tension

- Tensional stress, sometimes known as extensional stress, stretches and pulls rocks apart. This type of stress
occurs along divergent plate boundaries, where two tectonic plates are tearing away from one another. A prime
example of tensional stress is the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the plates carrying North and South America are moving
west, while the plates carrying Africa and Eurasia are moving east. Tensional stress can also occur well within an existing
plate, if an existing plate begins to split itself into two pieces. This process, known as rifting, has been taking place in
parts of eastern Africa.

Folding

- Rocks deforming plastically under compressive stresses crumple into folds. They do not return to their original
shape. If the rocks experience more stress, they may undergo more folding or even fracture.
 Anticline

- An anticline is a fold that arches upward. The rocks dip away from the center of the fold. The oldest rocks are
at the center of an anticline and the youngest are draped over them.

Syncline

- A syncline is a fold that bends downward. The youngest rocks are at the center and the oldest are at the
outside.

Faulting

- A fault is a fracture in the crustal rocks along which there is a movement of one side relative to each other. In
other words, a fault is a fracture in the earth’s crust marked by relative displacement or dislocation of rock strata. The
movement can be vertical, horizontal or oblique. Faults tend to occur in hard, rigid-rocks, which are more likely to break
than to bend.

When rock strata are subjected to intense tensional force in horizontal direction, it may break, giving rise to
fractures and cracks. Faulting may follow these. Generally, the movement that produces dislocation or displacement of
rock strata is sudden. The dislocation however, ranges in amount from a few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers.

C. Explain the two types of deformation that can occur to rocks under stress.
 Elastic Deformation -- wherein the strain is reversible.
 Ductile Deformation -- wherein the strain is irreversible.
 Fracture - irreversible strain wherein the material breaks.

D. Explain and describe three types of faults.

 Dip Slip Faults - Dip slip faults are faults that have an inclined fault plane and along which the relative
displacement or offset has occurred along the dip direction. Note that in looking at the displacement on
any fault we don't know which side actually moved or if both sides moved, all we can determine is the
relative sense of motion.
 Reverse Faults - are faults that result from horizontal compressional stresses in brittle rocks, where the
hanging-wall block has moved up relative the footwall block.
 Strike Slip Faults - are faults where the relative motion on the fault has taken place along a horizontal
direction. Such faults result from shear stresses acting in the crust. Strike slip faults can be of two
varieties, depending on the sense of displacement. To an observer standing on one side of the fault and
looking across the fault, if the block on the other side has moved to the left, we say that the fault is a
left-lateral strike-slip fault. If the block on the other side has moved to the right, we say that the fault is
a right-lateral strike-slip fault. The famous San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a right-lateral
strike-slip fault. Displacements on the San Andreas fault are estimated at over 600 km.

E. What type of fault forms when opposing forces cause rocks to break and move horizontally?
- Lateral faults (Strike-slip faults): In this fault, the fracture extends straight down into the rocks, and the
blocks of rock along the fault are displayed horizontally due to horizontal movements. This fault is also
known as Transform fault or Transcurrent fault. If the opposite block has moved to the left, it is called left-
lateral or sinistral fault. If the opposite block has moved to the right, it is known as right-lateral or dextral
fault.

Nicole Saysayen

12-3