footwall
[foo t-wawl]
- 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.
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Origin of footwall
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for footwall
Historical Examples
The total area of ore measured on the footwall was 785 acres.
The Economic Aspect of GeologyC. K. Leith
But the hardest rock of the hanging or footwall, however, is seldom as hard as the harder class of ore.
De Re MetallicaGeorgius Agricola
To these timbers are fixed small timbers along the footwall, to which are fastened the lagging and ladders.
De Re MetallicaGeorgius Agricola
Stringers are given the same characteristics as veins, but divided into hanging, footwall, and other varieties.
De Re MetallicaGeorgius 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 GeologyC. K. Leith
footwall
- the rocks on the lower side of an inclined fault plane or mineral veinCompare hanging wall
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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
[fut′wôl′]
- The block of rock lying under an inclined geologic fault plane. See more at fault. Compare hanging wall.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.