What is the name for a raised block of the earth's crust thrown up between two faults?
Alston Block Alston Block The Alston Block is a term used by geologists to describe the geological structure of the North Pennines of northern England and which forms a part of the Pennine Block & Basin Province which originated during the Carboniferous period. It is defined by the Stublick and Ninety Fathom faults to the north, the Pennine Fault to the west and the Stainmore Trough to the south. It is in essence a horst underlain by the Weardale Granite which provides sufficient buoyancy to maintain this piece of the upper crust as an area of raised relief. To its west lies
Fault block of moving plates, most motion between blocks is horizontal, that is parallel to the Earth's crust by strike-slip faults. However vertical movement of blocks produces much more dramatic results. Landforms (mountains, hills, ridges, lakes, valleys, etc.) are sometimes formed when the faults have a large vertical displacement. Adjacent raised blocks (horsts) and down-dropped blocks (grabens) can form high escarpments. Often the movement of these blocks is accompanied by tilting, due to compaction or stretching of the crust at that point. Fault-block mountains often result from rifting, another indicator of tensional tectonic forces. These can be small or form extensive rift