The term “Pseudotachylyte” was introduced in 1916 to denote a dark-coloured glass rock, similar to a basaltic lava flow. Pseudotachylytes can be seen in various other geological environments, such as fault zones, craters generated by the impact of meteorites, and flows of magmatic material from the flanks of explosive volcanoes. Pseudotachylytes found in fault zones are the most common and result from the friction generated between the two blocks of rock during an earthquake, when the resulting heat caused them to melt. These fault rocks provide valuable information about the Earth’s geodynamic forces and the processes that take place in depth during an earthquake.
