Which term describes the vertical displacement of rocks along a fault?

• A. Throw
• B. Dip
• C. Strike
• D. Rake

Answer: (A)

Vertical displacement along a fault is described by throw. When rocks move past each other during faulting, part of that movement is vertical, giving an up-or-down offset between the blocks—that is the throw. The other terms refer to different aspects: dip is how steeply the fault plane tilts from horizontal; strike is the compass direction of the fault trace on the surface; rake (or slip-in-plane direction) describes the movement direction within the fault plane relative to the strike. If the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall, that vertical offset is a positive throw (conventionally).