Fault lines and contrasting landscapes

Question 1

Tectonic processes can produce…

Answer 1

A variety of landscapes that are formed by seismic processes creating fault lines.

Question 2

Compress?

Answer 2

Tectonic processes can compress the crust creating stress that leads to earthquakes and uplift along reverse faults or thrust faults.
This leads to distinctive upland landscapes (e.g the mountainous landscape of NW Scotland created by the Moine thrust).

Question 3

Pull apart?

Answer 3

Tectonic processes can also pull the crust apart and this causes tension, leading to earthquakes and downward movement along normal faults.
This can create rift valleys and other depressions in the Earth’s surface (e.g. Lake Baikal in Russia).

Question 4

Horizontal movement?

Answer 4

Tectonic processes can also create horizontal movement along strike-slip faults (e.g. the San Andreas fault in California).

Question 5

The different tectonic processes create different types of fault movement and this results in different landscapes…

Answer 5

The different tectonic processes create different types of fault movement and this results in different landscapes. This is illustrated clearly by comparing the processes that created the Great glen fault in Scotland and the East African Rift System and their resulting landscapes.