Monocline

block diagram of a monocline
The Grandview-Phantom Monocline in the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Monocline at Colorado National Monument
Monocline formed at tip of small thrust fault, Brims Ness, Caithness, Scotland

A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform) is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently dipping sequence.

Formation

Possible modes of formation of monoclines

Monoclines may be formed in several different ways (see diagram)

  • By differential compaction over an underlying structure, particularly a large fault at the edge of a basin due to the greater compactibility of the basin fill, the amplitude of the fold will die out gradually upwards.
  • By mild reactivation of an earlier extensional fault during a phase of inversion causing folding in the overlying sequence.
  • As a form of fault propagation fold during upward propagation of an extensional fault in basement into an overlying cover sequence.
  • As a form of fault propagation fold during upward propagation of a reverse fault in basement into an overlying cover sequence.

Examples

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-01-13 06:36 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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