Final answer:
A steeply sloping and smooth rock face with breccia and slickensides indicates the presence of a fault, which is a break in the Earth's crust resulting from tectonic activity where rock blocks have moved relative to each other.
Step-by-step explanation:
A steeply sloping and smooth rock face in conjunction with the presence of breccia and slickensides indicates the presence of a fault. Breccia, a rock composed of broken fragments cemented together, often forms in fault zones as rocks are fragmented during faulting. Slickensides are polished fault surfaces that have been striated or grooved by movement along the fault plane. Their presence typically indicates that there has been some form of lateral movement along the rock face, likely due to the stress and strain in earth's crust resulting from tectonic activity.
Faults are cracks in the Earth's crust where blocks of crust slide relative to one another. This movement can be horizontal, vertical, or oblique, and the type of fault is determined by the direction of the stress and the nature of the movement between the rock blocks. In the context of this discussion, the steeply sloping rock face, breccia, and slickensides collectively suggest that the rock face is indeed part of a fault zone, rather than other geological structures like an anticline, basin, joint, or hot spot.