Fault-block landforms (mountains, hills, ridges, etc.) are created when large areas of bedrock are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements. This occurrence is fairly common. The uplifted blocks are called block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range province of Western North America, in south-central New England, and the Rhine valley. These areas often occur when the regional stress is extensional and the crust is thinned.
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