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The Balcones Fault Zone is a tensional structural system in Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 (USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
) that runs approximately from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio, Texas
Del Rio, Texas

Del Rio is a border city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, Texas, United States.. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acu?a via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing and Del R?o-Ciudad Acu?a International Bridge....
 to the north central region near Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. The city has a 2007 estimated total population of 122,222. It is the 26th largest city by population in Texas, and 195th in the US....
 along Interstate 35
Interstate 35

Interstate 35 is a north?south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, Minnesota, at Minnesota State Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East....
. The Balcones Fault zone is made up of many smaller features including: normal faults, graben
Graben

A graben is a depression block of land bordered by parallel Fault s. Graben is German language for ditch.A graben is the result of a block of land being downthrown producing a valley with a distinct Escarpment on each side....
s, and horsts
Horst (geology)

In physical geography and geology, a horst is the raised fault block bounded by normal Fault s or graben. A horst is formed from extension of the Earth's crust....
. One of the most obvious features is the Mount Bonnell
Mount Bonnell

Mount Bonnell , also known as Covert Park, is a prominent point alongside Lake Austin in Austin, Texas. It has been a popular picnicking and tourist spot since the mid-1800s....
 Fault.

The location of the fault zone may be related to the Ouachita Mountains
Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and Kiamichi country Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift....
, formed 300 million years ago during a continental collision.






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The Balcones Fault Zone is a tensional structural system in Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 (USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
) that runs approximately from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio, Texas
Del Rio, Texas

Del Rio is a border city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, Texas, United States.. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acu?a via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing and Del R?o-Ciudad Acu?a International Bridge....
 to the north central region near Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. The city has a 2007 estimated total population of 122,222. It is the 26th largest city by population in Texas, and 195th in the US....
 along Interstate 35
Interstate 35

Interstate 35 is a north?south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, Minnesota, at Minnesota State Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East....
. The Balcones Fault zone is made up of many smaller features including: normal faults, graben
Graben

A graben is a depression block of land bordered by parallel Fault s. Graben is German language for ditch.A graben is the result of a block of land being downthrown producing a valley with a distinct Escarpment on each side....
s, and horsts
Horst (geology)

In physical geography and geology, a horst is the raised fault block bounded by normal Fault s or graben. A horst is formed from extension of the Earth's crust....
. One of the most obvious features is the Mount Bonnell
Mount Bonnell

Mount Bonnell , also known as Covert Park, is a prominent point alongside Lake Austin in Austin, Texas. It has been a popular picnicking and tourist spot since the mid-1800s....
 Fault.

The location of the fault zone may be related to the Ouachita Mountains
Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and Kiamichi country Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift....
, formed 300 million years ago during a continental collision. Although long-since eroded away in Texas, the roots of these ancient mountains still exist, buried beneath thousands of feet of sediment
Sediment

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be sediment transport by fluid dynamics, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers....
. These buried Ouachita Mountains
Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and Kiamichi country Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift....
 may still be an area of weakness that becomes a preferred site for faulting when stress exists in the Earth's crust
Crust (geology)

In geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle . Crusts of Earth , our Moon, Mercury , Venus, and Mars have been generated largely by igneous processes, and these crusts are richer in incompatible elements than their respective mantle s....
. The Balcones Fault zone was most recently active about 15 million years ago during the Miocene
Miocene

The Miocene is a Geologic time scale of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain....
 epoch. This activity was related to subsidence
Subsidence

In geology, engineering, and surveying, subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is Tectonic uplift, which results in an increase in elevation....
 of the Texas Coastal Plain, most likely from the large amount of sediment deposited on it by Texas rivers. The Balcones Fault zone is not active today, and is in one of the lowest risk zones for earthquakes in the United States.

The surface expression of the fault is the Balcones Escarpment
Escarpment

In geomorphology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves a sharp, steep elevation differential, characterized by a cliff or steep slope....
, which forms the eastern boundary of the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country is a region of Central Texas, United States, that features rolling, somewhat rugged, hills that consist primarily of limestone but includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite outcropping in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located some thirty miles northwest of Fredericksburg, Texas....
 and the western boundary of the Texas Coastal Plain and consists of cliffs and cliff-like structures. Subterranean features such as Wonder Cave
Wonder Cave (San Marcos, Texas)

Wonder Cave is a show cave located in the Balcones Fault. The cave is also home to Wonder World amusement park....
 and numerous other smaller caves are found along the fault zone.

Many cities are located along this fault zone, and that is not a coincidence. Frequently, springs such as San Pedro Springs
San Pedro Springs

San Pedro Springs is the name of a cluster of Spring in Bexar County, Texas, Texas, United States. These springs provide water for San Pedro Creek, which flows into the San Antonio River....
, Comal Springs, San Marcos Springs
San Marcos Springs

San Marcos Springs is the second largest natural cluster of Spring in Texas. The springs are located in the city of San Marcos, Texas, about 30 miles southwest of Austin, Texas and 46 miles northeast of San Antonio, Texas....
, Barton Springs
Barton Springs

Barton Springs are four natural springs located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer....
 and Salado Springs
Salado Springs

Salado Springs is the name of five groups of Spring at the town of Salado, Texas in Bell County, Texas, Texas, in the United States. The springs are located 48 miles north of Austin, Texas or 135 miles south of Dallas, Texas....
 are found in the fault zone and provide a source of fresh water and an obvious place for human settlement.

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