Mountain Building
The forces of plate movement build up Earth's surface. Over a long period of time (millions of years), fault movements can change a flat plain into a towering mountain range.
Mountains Formed by Faulting
A fault-block mountain forms when normal faults uplift a block of rock. This process begins where two plates move away from each other, tension forces create many normal faults. A block of rock is left lying between two normal faults when they form parallel to each other. As the hanging wall of each normal fault slip downward and the block between them begins to move upward. An example of mountains formed by faulting is the Great Basin region. The region covers much of Nevada and western Utah.
Mountain Formed by Folding
A mountain formed by folding happens when the rock bends due to compression shortens and thickens part of the Earths crust. Folding happens when a bends in rock that forms where part of Earth's crust is compressed. Compression and folding in the crust can be caused by collisions of two plates. An example of mountains formed by folding are the Himalayas in Asia and the Alps in Europe. For every individual fold can be a few centimeters across or even hundreds kilometers wide.
Anticlines and Synclines
Geologists uses the words (anticline and syncline) to describe upward and downward fold in a rock. An anticline is a fold in a rock that bends upward into an arch. A syncline is a fold in rock that is in a bowl shape. Anticlines and Synclines are total opposites. An example of an anticline is the Black Hills of South Dakota. The hills began to form about 65 million years ago. A place that has synclines is the state of Illinois. The Illinois Basin is a series of synclines that start at the western side of Indiana across the state of Illinois, it is more than 250 kilometers long.
Plateaus
A plateau is a large, elevated area that is flat and high above sea level. Plateaus sometimes form when vertical faults push up a large, flat block of rock. Plateaus has many flat layers that make up the rock, they are wider than they are tall. An example of a plateau is in the "Four Corners" region of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Colorado Plateau is a roughly circular area 500 kilometers across and 1,500 meters above sea level. Today most plateaus on average lie more that 1,500 meters above sea level.
The forces of plate movement build up Earth's surface. Over a long period of time (millions of years), fault movements can change a flat plain into a towering mountain range.
Mountains Formed by Faulting
A fault-block mountain forms when normal faults uplift a block of rock. This process begins where two plates move away from each other, tension forces create many normal faults. A block of rock is left lying between two normal faults when they form parallel to each other. As the hanging wall of each normal fault slip downward and the block between them begins to move upward. An example of mountains formed by faulting is the Great Basin region. The region covers much of Nevada and western Utah.
Mountain Formed by Folding
A mountain formed by folding happens when the rock bends due to compression shortens and thickens part of the Earths crust. Folding happens when a bends in rock that forms where part of Earth's crust is compressed. Compression and folding in the crust can be caused by collisions of two plates. An example of mountains formed by folding are the Himalayas in Asia and the Alps in Europe. For every individual fold can be a few centimeters across or even hundreds kilometers wide.
Anticlines and Synclines
Geologists uses the words (anticline and syncline) to describe upward and downward fold in a rock. An anticline is a fold in a rock that bends upward into an arch. A syncline is a fold in rock that is in a bowl shape. Anticlines and Synclines are total opposites. An example of an anticline is the Black Hills of South Dakota. The hills began to form about 65 million years ago. A place that has synclines is the state of Illinois. The Illinois Basin is a series of synclines that start at the western side of Indiana across the state of Illinois, it is more than 250 kilometers long.
Plateaus
A plateau is a large, elevated area that is flat and high above sea level. Plateaus sometimes form when vertical faults push up a large, flat block of rock. Plateaus has many flat layers that make up the rock, they are wider than they are tall. An example of a plateau is in the "Four Corners" region of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Colorado Plateau is a roughly circular area 500 kilometers across and 1,500 meters above sea level. Today most plateaus on average lie more that 1,500 meters above sea level.