Horizontal resolution is the smallest interval measurable in the horizontal direction by the seismic method. Because both migrated and unmigrated sections are used for interpretation, the resolution of both must be evaluated. On unmigrated sections, the horizontal resolution is generally limited by Fresnel zone size for dominant frequency of the reflection being mapped. Features smaller than this seen on the section are probably noise or processing artifacts.

The horizontal resolution of a migrated section is much better than that of an unmigrated section and, theoretically, is directly related to the vertical resolution and angle of migration. In practice, the horizontal resolution is limited by uncertainties in velocity, inadequate spatial sampling, and presence of coherent noise, as well as shortcomings of, and approximations used in, the stacking and migration algorithms.

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