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Faulting and deformation
Normal faulting of layers has resulted in lowering of the block to the right of the image. Note, however, the presence of an intensely deformed area along the fault zone, with evidence of plastic deformation. Cretaceous El Molino Formation, near Torotoro, Bolivia.
Load structures
When sediment is still unconsolidated, it can deform under sudden solicitation (e.g., seismic shocks or load by additional sediment). Water expelled from intergranular pores can generate distinctive soft sediment deformation structures, known as ball-and-pillow structures or load structures, typically found at the contact between sandstone and mudstone beds.
Recumbent anticline
Anticlinal folding in Pennsylvanian strata of the Belden Fm. (Sweetwater Creek, near Dotsero, CO). Monoclinal to recumbent folds (similar to this one) can be caused by displacement connected with the termination of a thrust fault buried at depth. Some have interpreted this particular fold in this way, linking it with thrust activity during the Laramide orogeny. Note that the lithology of the Belden Fm., which consists of bedded shales, limestone, and evaporites, favors ductile deformation. Layers that tend to resist plastic deformation under stress are termed "competent," and a contrast between competent (e.g., sandstone, chert) and less competent (e.g., shale, gypsum) beds can produce spectacular folding.