A shear zone is a very important structural discontinuity surface in the Earth's crust and upper mantle. It forms as a response to inhomogeneous deformation partitioning strain into planar or curviplanar high-strain zones. Intervening (crustal) blocks stay relatively unaffected by the deformation. Due to the shearing motion of the surrounding more rigid medium, a rotational, non co-axial component can be induced in the shear zone. Because the discontinuity surface usually passes through a wide depth-range, a great variety of different rock types with their characteristic structures are produced.
Read more about Shear Zone: General Introduction, Rocks Produced in Shear Zones, Sense of Shear, Width of Shear Zones and Resulting Displacements, Strain Softening and Ductility, Occurrence and Examples of Shear Zones, Importance
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—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)