A long strike-slip fault follows a staircase-like trajectory consisting of interspaced fault planes that follow the main fault direction. These sub-parallel stretches are isolated by offsets at first, but over long periods of time, they can become connected by stepovers to accommodate the strike-slip displacement.
A long strike-slip fault follows a staircase-like trajectory, characterized by interspaced fault planes that align with the main fault direction. These parallel stretches initially separate by offsets, but eventually merge via stepovers to accommodate the strike-slip displacement.