Britannica AI Icon

Quick Summary

A graben is a geological term for a depressed segment of the Earth's crust that is bounded on at least two sides by faults. These depressed blocks are formed by faulting, where the surrounding areas are either raised (forming horsts) or lowered. Graben can vary significantly in size, from a few centimeters to tens of kilometers wide, with vertical movements of up to several thousand feet.12

These features are typically bounded by steeply dipping normal faults that generally dip toward each other. Graben valleys are often referred to as rift valleys and can be associated with volcanic activity. Famous examples of grabens include the Jordan–Dead Sea depression and Death Valley.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. horst and graben
  2. graben
  3. horst

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.