The study of seismology, or earthquakes, is a broad topic that includes the movement of the earth's plates. Plate tectonics, fault lines and fault zones are all related to the cause of earthquakes.
Definition
A fault zone is an area where there is a large concentration of closely placed fractures in the earth, called faults. Faults are breaks in rock where the earth's crust has been disturbed by the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Fault Zones and Earthquakes
The movement of plates along fault lines causes what is called "slippage," which means that there is movement in the earth in an upward, downward or side-to-side motion. When a lot of slippage along a fault line or in a fault zone occurs simultaneously, the outcome is often a major earthquake.
Famous Fault Zones
Some of the most well-known fault lines include the San Andreas fault in California, which caused 6.0 magnitude earthquakes as recently as 1989 and 2004, and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the Caribbean, which set off the 7.0 magnitude Haiti earthquake in 2010.
Tags: fault lines, movement earth, along fault, fault zone, Fault Zones
