A fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust along which movement has occurred. Faults are related to earthquakes because when the tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust move past each other along a fault line, they can get stuck due to friction. As the plates continue to move, stress builds up along the fault until it is released suddenly in the form of an earthquake. The sudden release of energy during an earthquake causes the ground to shake, resulting in the seismic waves that we feel as tremors.