The Crustal Stress Pattern in the Australian Continent

The state of stress in the crust is an important factor in the design and performance of underground excavations, the behaviour of oil reservoirs and in the design and construction of major civil works such as dams, bridges and road cuttings. A compilation of ‘near surface’ stresses, measured from tunnels, mines and rock outcrops has recently been conducted by Brown and Windsor (1990). This compilation has been extended to include the results from more than 40 earthquake focal mechanisms, and breakout data from 31 deep (>1 km) drill holes.