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Slickensides

From Andrew Alden, About.com

Slickensides are naturally polished rock surfaces that are produced by motion on faults. They may be scattered surfaces as small as your hand or, in rare cases, thousands of square meters in extent. The corrugations show the direction of motion along the fault. Unusual minerals may occur given the combinations of fluids and pressures along slickensides. But even familiar rocks, as we will see, take on unusual features too.

Images 1-12 of 13

We'll start smallSlickenside in LimestonePervasive slickensidesSlickensides in SerpentiniteOutcrop-scale slickensideSlickenside in Serpentinite OutcropA rare black flash Slickenside in Basalt
A dark mirrorCloseup of Basalt SlickensideOverview of the outcropSlickenside in ChertRight in an urban neighborhoodCorona Heights Slickenside, Beaver StreetSlickenside Streaks
A bit of the fault's other sideRock Near a SlickensideCloser look at polished sectionsSlickenside at Arm's LengthLooking its natural bestPolished ChertSky reflected in stoneChert Reflections
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