What is the angle between a planar feature, such as a sedimentary bed or a fault, and a horizontal plane?

What is the angle between a planar feature, such as a sedimentary bed or a fault, and a horizontal plane?

• A. Strike
• B. Dip
• C. Azimuth
• D. Inclination

Answer: (B)

The angle is dip. It describes how far a planar feature, like a sedimentary bed or a fault, tilts away from a horizontal plane, measured in the direction of maximum slope. Dip values range from 0 degrees (completely horizontal) to 90 degrees (vertical). The line of steepest descent on the plane is the dip direction and is perpendicular to the plane’s strike—the compass direction of the line where the plane intersects a horizontal surface. The other terms aren’t the tilt measure: strike refers to that horizontal intersection direction, azimuth is a general compass direction, and inclination is typically used for the angle of a line relative to horizontal rather than the tilt of a plane.

The angle is dip. It describes how far a planar feature, like a sedimentary bed or a fault, tilts away from a horizontal plane, measured in the direction of maximum slope. Dip values range from 0 degrees (completely horizontal) to 90 degrees (vertical). The line of steepest descent on the plane is the dip direction and is perpendicular to the plane’s strike—the compass direction of the line where the plane intersects a horizontal surface. The other terms aren’t the tilt measure: strike refers to that horizontal intersection direction, azimuth is a general compass direction, and inclination is typically used for the angle of a line relative to horizontal rather than the tilt of a plane.