<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock - mass movement . Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as subduction zones or transform faults . Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes . </P> <P> A fault plane is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault . A fault trace or fault line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface . A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault . </P>

What geological feature is a fracture in earth's crust