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Lineation identification and geology

Any linear structural feature in a rock, including stretched minerals, elongated pebbles, intersection of foliation planes, fold axes, slickenlines on fault surfaces, and aligned prismatic or acicular minerals. Lineations are used to determine the direction of tectonic transport, stretching, or flow. They are described by their trend compass bearing and plunge angle from horizontal . Field: structural geology. Example: Stretched quartz pebbles in deformed metaconglomerate of the Sudbury Basin define a strong lineation plunging 30° to the northeast, recording the direction of tectonic stretching during the Penokean orogeny.. Related terms: Foliation, Stretching lineation, Plunge, Fabric.

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Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.027557+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Lineation mean in geology?
Any linear structural feature in a rock, including stretched minerals, elongated pebbles, intersection of foliation planes, fold axes, slickenlines on fault surfaces, and aligned prismatic or acicular minerals. Lineations are used to determine the direction of tectonic transport, stretching, or flow. They are described by their trend compass bearing and plunge angle from horizontal .
What is an example of Lineation?
Stretched quartz pebbles in deformed metaconglomerate of the Sudbury Basin define a strong lineation plunging 30° to the northeast, recording the direction of tectonic stretching during the Penokean orogeny.
Which earth-science field uses the term Lineation?
Lineation is used in structural geology.
Which terms are related to Lineation?
Related terms in this reference are Foliation, Stretching lineation, Plunge, Fabric.

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