Thrust fault
Okay kiddo, have you ever played with two books and then pushed them at each other? They might start to crush together and slide on top of each other. That's a bit like a thrust fault.
A thrust fault happens when two parts of the Earth's crust get squished together, but instead of moving apart or sliding past each other, one part of the crust gets pushed on top of the other part. It's like when you try to shove a toy car under a couch cushion, but you push it too hard and it pops up on the top of the cushion.
This can happen when two tectonic plates are moving towards each other. One plate could be heavier and denser than the other and gets forced under the lighter plate. As it's pushed downwards, the rock on top of it can fold up or crack, creating a raised area called a mountain.
Thrust faults can be really powerful and cause earthquakes because of the sudden release of energy when one part of the crust moves on top of the other. But luckily, most of the time we don't even notice!
A thrust fault happens when two parts of the Earth's crust get squished together, but instead of moving apart or sliding past each other, one part of the crust gets pushed on top of the other part. It's like when you try to shove a toy car under a couch cushion, but you push it too hard and it pops up on the top of the cushion.
This can happen when two tectonic plates are moving towards each other. One plate could be heavier and denser than the other and gets forced under the lighter plate. As it's pushed downwards, the rock on top of it can fold up or crack, creating a raised area called a mountain.
Thrust faults can be really powerful and cause earthquakes because of the sudden release of energy when one part of the crust moves on top of the other. But luckily, most of the time we don't even notice!