Fold (geology)

A geological fold occurs when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur singly as isolated folds and in extensive fold trains of different sizes, on a variety of scales.

Folds form under varied conditions of stress, hydrostatic pressure, pore pressure, and temperature gradient, as evidenced by their presence in soft sediments, the full spectrum of metamorphic rocks, and even as primary flow structures in some igneous rocks. A set of folds distributed on a regional scale constitutes a fold belt, a common feature of orogenic zones. Folds are commonly formed by shortening of existing layers, but may also be formed as a result of displacement on a non-planar fault (fault bend fold), at the tip of a propagating fault (fault propagation fold), by differential compaction or due to the effects of a high-level igneous intrusion e.g. above a laccolith.

Folds are classified by their size, fold shape, tightness, and dip of the axial plane.

A fold surface seen in profile can be divided into hinge and limb portions. The limbs are the flanks of the fold and the hinge is where the flanks join together. The hinge point is the point of minimum radius of curvature (maximum curvature) for a fold. The crest of the fold is the highest point of the fold surface, and the trough is the lowest point. The inflection point of a fold is the point on a limb at which the reverses; on regular folds, this is the midpoint of the limb.

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