Schematic illustration of the development of the breached relay ramp illustrated in Figure 9D.
(A) Lateral propagation of two segments of the Hidden Valley fault ( propagation direction indicated by chevrons) establishes a relay ramp between the overlapping tips of the segments. Bending in the relay ramp causes the development of small extensional faults (one example shown in figure).
(B) Continued propagation of the bounding faults causes enlargement and increased bending of relay ramp. Early formed normal faults in ramp become rotated.
(C) Relay ramp has rotated to become
synthetic dip panel, and faults within it may be reactivated to accommodate downdip extension.