Ductile and brittle meso- deformational structures are quite common in Jordan's rock formations. A detailed interpretation of such structures provides valuable information about their possible mechanism of formation and their tectonic style which is mostly related to the dominant tectonic regime that has influenced the entire region. These structures are represented by soft plastic deformation, including pinch-swells, ball-pillow segments, seismites, distorted fossils, density inversion, and chaotic breccia travertine. They are interpreted to have formed in wet unconsolidated and consolidated conditions as results of extensional compression, and shear stresses in addition to shockwaves and over-pressurized water systems all affecting competent and incompetent rock formations.

In this article, a number of these structures are described in order to explain the nature of forces leading to their formation. The historic geological context of their formation time is elaborated and their relationship to the major structural elements and forces, such as the onset of the Syrian Arc fold belt and the Dead Sea Transform Fault or shockwaves of earthquakes or meteorite impacts are also discussed. The results indicate that the formation of many of these mesoscopic structures can be correlated with the formation of the mega structures but the other structures have resulted from earthquakes, meteoritic impacts, and inter-sedimentary forces, such as density inversions and over-pressurized groundwater systems.​