This week's Friday Field Photo is from Permian strata of the Karoo Basin in South Africa. This outcrop displays some spectacular micro-faulting. The alternating lighter and darker colored layers (sandier and muddier, respectively) highlights the very small offset normal faults.
This was part of a rather large chunk of strata (about size of a small car) that was clearly a block within a slide complex. It was encased in muddy debris flow deposits and joined by other, much smaller, chunks of similar looking rock. Essentially, the block slid down a slope in a submarine landslide event. This faulting must have been the result of the block very slightly deforming as it was transported.
Happy Friday!
