9. Dikes associated with lateral spreading form as the cap is pulled apart, while the cap moves toward a topographic depression such as a stream or canal. Fluidized sediment flows into the breaks, making dikes. Lateral spreads generally require less severe shaking to develop than do other mechanisms of seismically induced ground failure and typically develop farthest from the meizoseismal zone (often as far as many tens of kilometers). Dikes from this mechanism are often as much 0.5 to 2 m wide in the meizoseismal zone of strong earthquakes.