footwall

[foo t-wawl]

noun

Mining. the top of the rock stratum underlying a vein or bed of ore.Compare hanging wall(def 1).

Geology. a mass of rock lying beneath a fault plane.

Origin of footwall

First recorded in 1640–50; foot + wall

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for footwall

Historical Examples of footwall

The total area of ore measured on the footwall was 785 acres.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
But the hardest rock of the hanging or footwall, however, is seldom as hard as the harder class of ore.
De Re Metallica
Georgius Agricola
To these timbers are fixed small timbers along the footwall, to which are fastened the lagging and ladders.
De Re Metallica
Georgius Agricola
Stringers are given the same characteristics as veins, but divided into hanging, footwall, and other varieties.
De Re Metallica
Georgius Agricola
The ratio of ore area to total explored area, measured in the plane of the footwall, was 21-½ per cent.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith

British Dictionary definitions for footwall

footwall

noun

the rocks on the lower side of an inclined fault plane or mineral veinCompare hanging wall

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

footwall in Science

footwall

[fut′wôl′]

The block of rock lying under an inclined geologic fault plane. See more at fault. Compare hanging wall.