  We compute displacement and stress due to a normal fault by means of
two-dimensional plane-strain finite-element analysis. To do so, we apply a
system of forces to the fault nodes and develop an iterative algorithm serving
to determine the force magnitudes for any slip distribution. As a sample case,
we compute the force magnitudes assuming uniform slip on a 10-km
two-dimensional normal fault. The numerical model generates displacement and
stress fields that compare well to the analytical solution. In fact, we find
little difference in displacements (<5%), displacement orientation (<15 DEG),
and stress components (<35%, half of which due to slip tolerance). We analyze
such misfit, and discuss how the error propagates from displacement to stress.
Our scheme provides a convenient way to use the finite-elements direct method
in a trial-and-error procedure to reproduce any smooth slip distribution.
