A crack or surface of breakage within rock not related to foliation or cleavage in metamorphic rock along which there has been no movement. A fracture along which there has been displacement is a fault. When walls of a fracture have moved only normal to each other, the fracture is called a joint. Fractures can enhance permeability of rocks greatly by connecting pores together, and for that reason, fractures are induced mechanically in some reservoirs in order to boost hydrocarbon flow.
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