Blog post #1

The Balcones Fault Zone is an area encompassing a large part of Texas and is actually a group of faults. Created by the extension of the Continental crust, this area shows evidence of mostly normal faults.  The Balcones escarpment, moving west through Austin, is a prominent feature of the landscape. The fault scarp line separates the Edwards plateau to the west from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the east. The hanging wall extends as high as 300 feet in Austin, and shows a throw of nearly 600 at Mount Bonnell.


Mount Bonnell, on the Colorado River in Austin, is located in the fault zone and is a popular tourist attraction.

This formation in San Antonio is a great example of a fault scarp in one many normal faults in the Balcones Fault zone.

There are many representations of the fault around the Austin area, including faults, fractures, caves, sink holes and aquifers. I'll will be in Austin this weekend, and hope to bring back my own photos and information for my next blog!

Sources:

"URBAN GEOPHYSICS: A MAPPING OF MOUNT BONNELL FAULT AND ITS 
KARSTIC FEATURES IN AUSTIN, TX". Mustafa Saribudak, Environmental Geophysics Associates, Austin, TX
"BALCONES ESCARPMENT," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rxb01), accessed September 20, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bonnell
http://archives.datapages.com
http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/charts.html