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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–6Cite as

Lineament

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Definition

Linear or curvilinear surface feature.

Description

  1. (1)

    A broad nongenetic term used to include any visible linear trend commonly, but not always, of regional extent (Masursky et al. 1978). It refers to any linear-trending feature observed in aerial or remote sensing imagery, including fault zones, ditches, fractures, ridges, and escarpments. On Earth, O’Leary et al. (1976) defined lineament as a “mappable simple or composite linear feature whose parts align in a straight or slightly curving relationship and that differs distinctly from the patterns of adjacent features. Presumably a lineament expresses a subsurface phenomenon. The surface features making up a lineament may be geomorphic (caused by relief) (Fig. 1) or tonal (caused by contrast differences) (Fig. 2). The surface features may be landforms, the linear boundaries between different types of terrain, or breaks within a uniform terrain.”

  2. (2)

    Linear surface feature of unknown origin: In planetary geology, the term...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mail Stop 601-1, NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA

    J. Brad Dalton III

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  1. J. Brad Dalton III
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Correspondence to J. Brad Dalton III .

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Dalton, J.B. (2014). Lineament. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_425-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_425-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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