Data identifying linear features (shown as polylines) representing geological faults at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). The scale of the data is 1:625 000 scale, providing a simplified interpretation of the linear features which may be used as a guide at a regional or national level, but should not be relied on for local geology. Onshore coverage is provided for all of England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Geological faults occur where a body of bedrock has been fractured and displaced by large scale processes affecting the Earth's crust (tectonic forces). The digital data are attributed by fault type; two categories of fault are described in the data: fault at rockhead (representing normal dip-slip and strike-slip faults) and thrust fault (representing faults caused by compressive forces). The data have been generalised and show only the locations of major faults. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as an OGC GeoPackage and are delivered free of charge under the terms of the Open Government Licence.
