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Slickenside identification and geology

A polished, striated surface on a fault plane produced by friction during fault movement. The striations slickenlines on the surface indicate the direction of slip, and steps or grooves on the surface may indicate the sense of movement which block moved which way . Slickensides are important kinematic indicators used to reconstruct fault movement history. Field: structural geology. Example: Polished slickenside surfaces with horizontal striations on the Denali Fault in Alaska confirm the right-lateral strike-slip motion inferred from regional geological mapping.. Related terms: Fault, Striation, Kinematic indicator, Shear.

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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
2026-03-30T15:19:42.096023+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 Slickenside mean in geology?
A polished, striated surface on a fault plane produced by friction during fault movement. The striations slickenlines on the surface indicate the direction of slip, and steps or grooves on the surface may indicate the sense of movement which block moved which way . Slickensides are important kinematic indicators used to reconstruct fault movement history.
What is an example of Slickenside?
Polished slickenside surfaces with horizontal striations on the Denali Fault in Alaska confirm the right-lateral strike-slip motion inferred from regional geological mapping.
Which earth-science field uses the term Slickenside?
Slickenside is used in structural geology.
Which terms are related to Slickenside?
Related terms in this reference are Fault, Striation, Kinematic indicator, Shear.

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