What type of rock movement is seen in a normal fault?

In a normal fault, the defining characteristic is that one block of rock, known as the hanging wall, moves downward relative to another block called the footwall. This downward movement is a result of extensional forces acting on the Earth's crust, which stretches and pulls it apart. As these forces increase, the rock on either side of the fault can slip past each other, but in the case of a normal fault, the primary movement is vertical.

This downward movement creates a slope where the hanging wall has dropped compared to the footwall, contributing to the formation of features such as basins and rift valleys. This type of faulting is commonly associated with tectonic plate boundaries where the plates are diverging.

This explanation underscores how the nature of the forces acting on the crust defines the movement of rocks within a fault context, specifically highlighting how normal faults are characterized by this downward motion.