Plunging Syncline from Aloft

June 20, 2006

Anticlinal_fold copy

Provided by: Susan Rhoades
Summary authors & editors: Susan Rhoades

The photo above shows a plunging synclinal feature off a beach just north of Half Moon Bay, California. It was taken from a small plane at low tide on April 22, 2006. The syncline is pointing in a southeasterly direction, which indicates the folded rock strata is plunging in the same direction. Anticlines and synclines are common deformational features at plate boundaries, where subduction and or transform faulting occurs.

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