![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Fault-Horst-Graben.svg/640px-Fault-Horst-Graben.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Horst (geology)
Raised fault block bounded by normal faults / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In physical geography and geology, a horst is a raised fault block bounded by normal faults.[1] Horsts are typically found together with grabens. While a horst is lifted or remains stationary, the grabens on either side subside.[2] This is often caused by extensional forces pulling apart the crust. Horsts may represent features such as plateaus, mountains, or ridges on either side of a valley.[3] Horsts can range in size from small fault blocks up to large regions of stable continent that have not been folded or warped by tectonic forces.[2]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Fault-Horst-Graben.svg/320px-Fault-Horst-Graben.svg.png)
The word Horst in German means "mass" or "heap" and was first used in the geological sense in 1883 by Eduard Suess in The Face of the Earth.[4][5][note 1]