]> In geology, a fault or fault line is a planar rock fracture, which shows evidence of relative movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust are the result of shear motion and active fault zones are the causal locations of most earthquakes. Earthquakes are caused by energy release during rapid slippage along faults. The largest examples are at tectonic plate boundaries but many faults occur far from active plate boundaries. Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, the term fault zone is used when referring to the zone of complex deformation that is associated with the fault plane. The most common fracture type is conchoidal. This is a smoothly curved fracture that is familiar to people who have examined broken glass. a fracture that produces a texture similar to broken children's clay. It is found in minerals that are generally massive and loosely consolidated. Jagged has sharp points or edges that catch on a finger that's rubbed across the surface. Splintery is a fracture type that occurs in fibrous or finely acicular minerals and in minerals that have a relatively stronger structure in one direction than the other two. Similar to conchoidal, just not as curved, but still smooth.