STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

This is the portion of geology which deals with orientation, the shape and general configuration
of the rocks in the earth’s crust. Most of these rocks have been affected by forces which act
within the earth. These forces may be categorized as;
 Compression
 Tension
 Shear
Geological structures can be divided into three different groups namely:
 Folds
 Faults
 Joints
To understand the way rocks are arranged in the earth crust one needs to be able to describe

plutonic forms. Dip & strike are the two terms that are used to explain well the inclination of any

plane in a rock. The strike of a strata is the direction of the line formed from the intersection of

two planes, the plane of the rock strata and the imaginary horizontal line. The dip is the amount

of tilt of the inclined surface. It is normally recorded as an angle and is perpendicular to the

strike direction.

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A dip is a maximum inclination of the bed and it is at right angles to horizontal straight lines.
Usually there is no true dip but we have apparent dip. This apparent dip is not in right angles.
Apparent dip are found in cross-sections through the strata in a natural outcrop. Usually
geological compass and clinometer are used in measuring strike and dip in the field. The dip and
strike of any place may be measured so as to record information about joints folds and foliations.
The three features of structural geology relevant to construction works are faults, folds and
joints. Sedimentary rocks occupy a greater part of the earth’s crust with a single layer having
thickness of 1mm to more than 1m. The surfaces separating any two layers may be used to
demonstrate each structure the surface which separates the two layers are called bending planes.

Folds
Folds are bends in layer bedrock. Folded rock can be compared to several layers of rugs or
blankets that have been pushed through a series of arches and troughs. Often times, folds in rocks
can be seen in road cuts or other exposures. When the arches and troughs of folds are concealed
(or when they exist on a grand scale), geologist can still determine the presence of folds by

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noticing reversals in the direction of dip taken on outcrops in the field or shown on geologic
map.

The fact that the rock is folded shows that it was strained plastically rather than elastically or
by fracturing. Yet the rock exposed in outcrops is generally brittle and shutters when struck with
a hammer. We can speculate that at the time of the folding of the rock layers were buried fairly
deeply. Under such conditions of high pressure and high temperatures, the layered rock tended to
yield plastically to stress and bend rather than break if stress is applied very slowly.

Folds are geological structures formed when the stratum are bent by the plutonic forces. It is a in
a rock. They show up best in layered rocks but they also occur in unlayered rock. Two main
types of folds exist:-
 Syncline
 Anticline

An arched fold in which the two limbs dip from one another is called anticline and a fold in
which two limbs dips towards one another is called the syncline. Thus in syncline folds rocks are
folded downward into a basin and in anticline folds rocks are folded upwards into a dome. For
every syncline there exists an anticline. Plunging fold is inclined and if you walked along its axis
you will be travelling downhill or uphill.

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Formation of folds is due to operation of forces that are tangential to the earth surface. The rocks
respond to the crustal compression by bending or breaking. If rocks are sufficiently flexible and
ductile to withstand any confirmed folding without breaking, the folding may continue to
develop and the situation when older rocks overlie young ones results. Mountain chains such
Alps Mountains.

Geometry of folds
The shapes and pattern of folds reveal much about the nature and extent of forces of deformation
that created them. An anticline is an arched fold in which the rock layers dip away from the axis
(or hinge line) of the fold. It can be visualized as an up fold, that is, one that opens downward.
The trough like counterpart of an anticline is a syncline, a fold in which the layered rock dips
toward an axis. Think of it as a downward opening upward. In the series of folds two anticlines
are separated by synclines. Each anticline and adjacent syncline shares a limb. Similar axis on
the crests of the two anticlines and bottom of the syncline. Similar axis would be underground at
the hinge lines of contacts between any two adjacent folded layers. For each anticline and
syncline, the axis are within the shaded vertical planes. Each of these planes is an axial plane, a
plane containing all the axis of a fold

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 It is important to remember that anticlines are not necessarily related to ridges or synclines to
valleys because valleys and ridges are nearly always erosional features. In an area that has been
eroded to a plain, the presence of underlying anticline and synclines are determined by the
direction and dipping beds in exposed bedrock.

In determining the relative ages of the rock layers, beds can tell us whether a structure is an
anticline or a syncline. Observe that the oldest rocks are exposed along the axis of the anticline.
This is because lower layers in the originally flat lying sedimentary or volcanic rock were moved
upward and are now in the core of the anticline. The youngest rock on the other hand, which
were originally in the upper layer were folded downward and now crop out along the synclinal
axis.

Plunging fold
This is the easiest to visualize. In nature however anticlines and synclines are to be plunging
folds-that is, folds in which axes are not horizontal. On a surface leveled by erosion, the patterns
of exposed strata (beds) resemble horseshoes rather than the striped patterns of non-plunging
folds. However, plunging anticlines and synclines are distinguished from one another in the same
way as are non-plunging folds- by directions of dip or by relative ages of beds.

Domes and structural basins

A Dome is a structure in which the beds dip away from central points. In cross section a dome
resembles an anticline. In a structural basin, the beds dip towards a central point; in cross section
it’s comparable to a syncline
Domes and basins tend to be features on a grand scale (some are more than hundred
kilometers across), formed by uplift somewhat greater (for domes) or less for basins than that of
the rest of a region. In the central United States, Lake Superior overlies a large structural basin
and domes of similar size are found in other parts of the Middle West. Smaller domes are found
in the Rocky Mountains.

Interpreting folds
Folds occur in many varieties and in any size. Some are studied under microscope while others
can have adjacent axis tens of kilometers apart, some folds are kilometer or more in height.
There are several types of folds, each one revealing something about the stress that created the

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pattern. All other factors being equal the open the fold, the less intense the forces that created. By
contrast, an isoclinals fold, one in which limbs are parallel to one another, implies intense
compressive stress
Overturned folds in which limbs dip in the same direction, imply that compressive forces can
be the upper part to override the lower part of the fold pattern. Looking at an outcrop in which
only the overturned limb of a fold is exposed, you would probably conclude that the youngest
bed is at the top. However the principal of superposition cannot be applied to determine top and
bottom for overturned beds. You must either see the rest of the fold or find features within the
fold that indicate the original top or upward direction.

Faults
Faulting is a break in the earth crust along which there has been lateral displacement. A fault is a
break through the strata so that bends of different ages are placed adjacent to each other. The
type of fault relate to their dip and the relative displacement of the strata they have brought
about. Faults are classified according to their movement of masses of the rock on either side of
the fault itself.
 Normal faults-they occur as a result of tensional or crustal tension. Lengthening of the
earth crust in which shear planes are steeply inclined to the horizontal.
The block towards which the fault plane dip is called the hanging wall while the other side is
called the fault scarp.
 Thrust faults – they are formed when dominant compression forces are horizontal thus
producing shear fractures. It is also known as reverse fault.

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In both thrust and normal fault a vertical movement is involved.

 Longitudinal fault-The blocks slip apart from each other in a lateral pattern.

The main fracture is inclined to the horizontal at an angle of less 45 degrees.

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 In general faulted rocks are weak foundation zones because faults allows conductance of
fluids and they may be slip zones during earth movement or tremors.

Joints
They are the parting planes found in rocks that are developed in the relief of tensional or
shearing stresses acting on the rock mass. Joint is a break on earth crust or rock where there is no
displacement. The force of these stresses may be shrinkage or contraction, compression or
unequal uplifts or subsidence. Joints are the most common of all geologic structures that affects
soils and rocks in construction and engineering works. The fissures of many unconsolidated
sediments are actually joints.
Joints differ from folds because they are fractures where there is no movement of block relative
to each other. They are very common in young sediments or folded sediments or near folds. In
young sediments the joints are known as shrinkage joints. They are developed from drying or
freezing of deposited sediments which forms sedimentary rocks.
Well defined joints sets a good major joint and less developed joints are referred to as minor
joints. Their spacing and frequency of occurrence vary. The size and spacing of these joints are
of considerable importance in quarrying and other excavation works on sites. Rocks in which
joints are widely spaced e.g. sands stones and limestone’s yield large blocks of stones while
closely jointed rocks break up into small pieces.
The ease of quarrying, excavation or tunneling in hard rocks depends on:-
 The regular and irregular nature of the joints
 The direction and spacing of the joints
Joints are very important in connection with the movement of water because the pressure on the
joints is a major factor in weathering.

Gorge
A gorge is a narrow valley with steep, rocky walls located between hills or mountains. A number
of natural forces form gorges. The most common is erosion due to streams or rivers. Streams
carve through hard layers of rock, breaking down or eroding it. Sediment from the worn-away
rock is then carried downstream.