Geological Stresses

Rocks can experience stress, much like people do. This stress comes from the movement of Earth's tectonic plates deep within the crust.

Stress is a force that can cause rocks to change shape or break. It builds up as tectonic plates push, pull, or slide past each other. There are four main types of geological stress.

Confining stress presses down on a buried rock from all sides. The weight of overlying layers traps the rock, preventing it from changing shape.

Compression stress squeezes rocks together, causing them to crumple or fold. This type of stress occurs at convergent plate boundaries and leads to the formation of landforms like mountains.

Tension stress pulls rocks apart, stretching and thinning them. It typically occurs at divergent plate boundaries, creating features such as mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys.

Shear stress occurs when rocks slide in opposite directions, creating transform faults, such as the famous San Andreas Fault.

If a rock cannot withstand the stress, it may bend or break, resulting in features like mountains, trenches, or faults.