Fault Zone Development with Temporal Impact on Fluid Flow - Example from Navajo Sandstone, Utah

This work presents a field study of deformation structures found in a fault within the Navajo Sandstone in the San Rafael Swell, Utah. The main objective of this work is to describe the structural characteristics of the fault and identify different deformation episodes and their impact on fluid flow in the fault zone. Field analogues can be a useful tool for describing the hydo-mechanical coupling within fault zones and provides important knowledge of fault architecture and structural characteristics within faults. The studied faults are found to contain cataclastic deformation band later overprinted by fracturing and with calcite cement indicating fluid flow along the fault.