Fracture (geology)

Imagine you have a giant cookie. You drop it on the ground, and it breaks into pieces. When rocks underground experience a lot of pressure and stress, they can also break into pieces, just like the cookie. These pieces are called fractures.

Fractures in rocks can happen in different ways. Sometimes, the rock cracks straight through, like breaking a stick in half. Other times, it may start to separate along a fault line, like pulling a piece of bread apart. Fractures can also happen when there is too much pressure on the rock, causing it to expand and form cracks.

Fractures can be important for geologists to study because they can affect how water and minerals flow through the rock. Some fractures can even be pathways for oil and gas to escape from underground. Geologists study the size, orientation and spacing of fractures to better understand how the rock will behave and respond to different changes in the environment.