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Fracture zone
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{{Short description|Linear feature on the ocean floor}} {{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=right|frame-width=510|frame-height=350|frame-long=0.0|frame-lat=-0.0|zoom=1|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Fracture zone}}|text=Approximate surface projection on oceans of named fracture zones (orange). Also shown are relevant present plate boundaries (white) and associated features (lighter orange). Click to expand to interactive map.<ref name=FZmaplink>General citations for named fracture zones are at page [[Wikipedia:Map data/Fracture zone]] and specific citations are in interactive detail.</ref>}} [[File:Fracture Zone - bstern3.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Oceanic crust age differences and ridge-ridge transform faulting associated with offset mid-ocean ridge segments lead to the formation of fracture zones.]] A '''fracture zone''' is a linear feature on the ocean floor—often hundreds, even thousands of kilometers long—resulting from the action of offset [[mid-ocean ridge]] axis segments. They are a consequence of [[plate tectonics]]. Lithospheric plates on either side of an active [[transform fault]] move in opposite directions; here, [[strike-slip]] activity occurs. Fracture zones extend past the transform faults, away from the ridge axis; are usually seismically inactive (because both plate segments are moving in the same direction), although they can display evidence of transform fault activity, primarily in the different ages of the crust on opposite sides of the zone. In actual usage, many transform faults aligned with fracture zones are often loosely referred to as "fracture zones" although technically, they are not. They can be associated with other tectonic features and may be subducted or distorted by later tectonic activity. They are usually defined with [[Bathymetry|bathymetric]], [[Gravity anomaly|gravity]] and [[Geomagnetic reversal|magnetic]] studies.
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