A rift lake is a
lake formed as a result of subsidence related to movement on
faults within a
rift zone, an area of
extensional tectonics in the
continental crust. They are often found within
rift valleys and may be very deep. Rift lakes may be bounded by large steep
cliffs along the fault margins.
^Marshall, J.E.A. & Hewett, A.J. 2003. Devonian. In: Evans, D., Graham, C., Armour, A. & Bathurst, P. (eds): The Millennium Atlas: petroleum geology of the central and northern North Sea. London, the Geological Society of London, 65–81.