You observe a distinct,red sandstone rock body about 50 m thick that is depositionally overlain by a red shale with interbedded gypsum and you follow this boundary in the rock bodies for 1 km until you cross a fault which has displaced the boundary between the two rock bodies.You walk along the fault and see a boundary between a 50 m thick red sandstone and overlying red shale interbedded with gypsum.You conclude ________.
A)this is impossibly complex; the fault broke up all the rocks
B)this new exposure of sandstone,shale and gypsum must be a different age rock unit
C)the stratigraphic section must have been inverted by the deformation; the rocks are upside down
D)the second exposure of sandstone,shale and gypsum correlates to the first,and the boundary between the sandstone and shale is the same stratigraphic horizon

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that the second exposure of the sandstone, shale, and gypsum correlates with the first, and the boundary between the sandstone and shale is the same stratigraphic horizon suggests that the stratigraphic section has not been completely disrupted by the fault. Therefore, the best choice is D.

You Observe a Distinct,red Sandstone Rock Body About 50 M