A type of listric normal fault where sediment infilling at the surface has kept pace with the fault movement such that the hanging wall has a thicker sequence than the footwall

A type of listric normal fault where sediment infilling at the surface has kept pace with the fault movement such that the hanging wall has a thicker sequence than the footwall

• A. Normal Fault
• B. Reverse Fault
• C. Thrust Fault
• D. Growth Fault

Answer: (D)

Growth faults occur when fault movement and sedimentation happen together. In an extensional setting with a listric normal fault, the fault surface curves and steps downward as it develops, creating space that can be filled by new sediment. If deposition keeps pace with fault movement, more material accumulates on the hanging-wall side, so that block becomes thicker than the footwall. This ongoing, syn-kinematic sedimentation producing thicker hanging-wall strata is what defines a growth fault. Plain normal faults don’t inherently imply this simultaneous growth of sedimentary cover, and reverse or thrust faults involve compression rather than extension, leading to different stacking patterns.

Growth faults occur when fault movement and sedimentation happen together. In an extensional setting with a listric normal fault, the fault surface curves and steps downward as it develops, creating space that can be filled by new sediment. If deposition keeps pace with fault movement, more material accumulates on the hanging-wall side, so that block becomes thicker than the footwall. This ongoing, syn-kinematic sedimentation producing thicker hanging-wall strata is what defines a growth fault. Plain normal faults don’t inherently imply this simultaneous growth of sedimentary cover, and reverse or thrust faults involve compression rather than extension, leading to different stacking patterns.