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Strike identification and geology

The compass direction bearing of a horizontal line on a tilted geological surface bedding plane, fault, foliation, or vein . Strike is always perpendicular to the dip direction and, together with dip, completely defines the orientation of a planar feature in three-dimensional space. Strike is expressed as a compass bearing e.g., N45°E or 045° and is fundamental to structural geology and geological mapping. Field: structural geology. Example: Measuring the strike and dip of bedding planes across an area allows a geologist to construct a geological map showing the three-dimensional structure of folded and faulted rock layers.. Related terms: Dip, Attitude, Bedding, Compass.

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 Strike mean in geology?
The compass direction bearing of a horizontal line on a tilted geological surface bedding plane, fault, foliation, or vein . Strike is always perpendicular to the dip direction and, together with dip, completely defines the orientation of a planar feature in three-dimensional space. Strike is expressed as a compass bearing e.g., N45°E or 045° and is fundamental to structural geology and geological mapping.
What is an example of Strike?
Measuring the strike and dip of bedding planes across an area allows a geologist to construct a geological map showing the three-dimensional structure of folded and faulted rock layers.
Which earth-science field uses the term Strike?
Strike is used in structural geology.
Which terms are related to Strike?
Related terms in this reference are Dip, Attitude, Bedding, Compass.

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