Anticline

Anticline with syncline visible at far right- USGS

In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up or to the youngest beds. On a geologic map, anticlines are usually recognized by a sequence of rock layers that are progressively older toward the center of the fold. The strata dip away from the center of the fold. If an anticline plunges (i.e., is inclined to the earth's surface), the surface strata will form Vs that point in the direction of plunge.(Monroe and Wicander, 230) An anticline that plunges at both ends to form a circular or elongate structure is a dome. An elongate dome which developed as the sediments were being deposited is referred to as a pericline.

Anticlines are typically flanked by synclines although faulting can complicate and obscure the relation between the two. Any fold whose form is convex upward, is an antiform, and most antiforms are anticlines. Folds typically form during crustal deformation as the result of compression that accompanies orogenic mountain building.

Anticlines are favored locations for oil and natural gas drilling; the fuel's low density causes it to migrate upward to the highest parts of the fold, until stopped by an impermeable layer.

References

Davis, George H., Reynolds, Stephen J., 1996. Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-471-52621-5
Monroe, James S., and Reed Wicander. The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0314095772

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