Faults are a break in the crust of a body like the earth or the moon accompanied by movement of rock. The hard outer layer that makes up the Earth's surface is called the crust. It floats on a bed of half-molten rock and is cracked in places. Each of the cracked sections of the crust is called a plaque. Scientists call places where the movement of the earth has left cracks in the rock surface faults. Evidence of moving plates and stresses released by moving solid rocks seen through broken crust on the Earth's surface. Faults are classified in three different ways: strike-slip, normal and reverse. A separation fault occurs when two plate ends slide past each other horizontally. Normal defects occur when the end of one plate slides vertically toward the end of another. A reverse foul occurs when one end of one plate moves vertically toward the end of another plate. Normal and reverse faults give rise to ridges causing distinctive land formations. Plate movements can be both vertical and horizontal, producing what is known as an oblique fault. Plate tectonics shows us that the entire world is divided into approximately twelve giant plates. The six major tectonic plates, as these sections are called, are the African, American, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates. Each reaching thousands of kilometers long and wide. Each specific plate is made of rock and is approximately forty miles thick. All the plates fit together like a puzzle. Adjusting to each other, which in turn makes the earth. When plates rise very high, they become continents, those that are very low form basins. These basins then fill with water and become our oceans. The plates are found on the Earth's mantle. The mantle is 2,000 miles thick. The t......middle of paper......and 131 km. The Calaveras Fault is considered a “right-lateral strike-slip fault,” meaning the movement is primarily horizontal. Nearly two-thirds of its supposed surface trace is hidden by ancient landslides and other surface deposits, making this fault zone extremely complex. In conclusion, there are many interesting things about the world we live in. From different types of faults to different types of fault zones. Each with their own interesting facts and information about them. What is known about the San Andreas and what it does for the earth, whether good or bad, may not be very extensive, but what we do know is that nature will find a way to make something happen on the earth so that it will benefit him more in certain areas. path. So that by having this giant fold-like thing that stretches almost the entire length of the state of California, it benefits us to some extent..