Quantifying Natural Fault Geometry: Statistics of Splay Fault Angles

We propose a new approach to quantifying fault system geometry, using an objective fit of the fault geometry to a test function, specifically here a fault branch. Fitting a “Y ” shaped object using a cost function to dextral faults in California, we find a number of significant results arising from using a systematic, objective, quantitative approach. (1) The largest angle of the branch structure is generally very close to 180°, implying the branch is a splay fault off the primary throughgoing fault. (2) The distribution of the smallest angle, the splay angle, has a peak near ± 17°, symmetric about the primary fault. (3) These features appear independent of scale. These results are not yet explained by any theory, and pose new questions and constraints for the physics of fault system formation and behavior.