Extension and subsidence adjacent to a "weak' continental transform: an example from the Rukwa Rift, East Africa

The Rukwa rift basin contains Carboniferous to Quaternary sedimentary strata ~11 km thick. Within the basin, maximum extension has been directed nearly normal to the border fault, even though this border fault has been dominated by dextral strike slip. The orientation of the extension is interpreted as a local stress rotation symptomatic of a low-friction, "weak' strike-slip border fault. Structural and morphologic features suggest that an along-strike contrast in the frictional strength of the border fault controls the location of this extension. -from Authors