In geology, the vertical displacement of rock strata along a fault, with the downthrown side moving lower; to throw something downward.
Compound of 'down' and 'throw' (Old English 'þrowian'). Technical geological term from the 19th century describing fault mechanics.
When earthquakes happen along a fault, one side of the rock gets pushed down relative to the other—geologists measure the 'downthrow' to understand how old the fault is and how hard it's being pushed.
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