Geology: The Science of the Earth's CrustMiller, William J. (William John)
Philosophy
Geology: The Science of the Earth's Crust
Miller, William J. (William John)
Geology
Another mode of origin of mountains is by the rise of molten material
to the surface, especially where a chain of volcanoes is located. Thus
the Cascade Mountains from northern California through Oregon and
Washington, including Mounts Lassen, Shasta, Pitt, Baker, St. Helens,
and Rainier, are very largely the result of volcanic action. The long
chain of Aleutian Islands of Alaska, referred to in our study of
volcanoes, is an excellent example of a great mountain range now being
built up out of the sea by volcanic action. More locally molten rocks
under pressure may not reach the surface but instead simply bulge or
dome the strata over them, as in the case of the group known as the
Henry Mountains of Utah, and also in other parts of the West.
In still other cases mountains of considerable area and altitude have
resulted from erosion of uplifted regions where the uplift has been
practically unaccompanied by either folding, faulting, or igneous
activity. Any low-lying area, regardless of the character of its rocks,
structure, or previous history, may be notably upraised and simply
subjected to erosion. An excellent illustration is afforded by the
Catskill Mountains of New York, where numerous deep valleys and narrow
ridges have been carved out of upraised nearly horizontal strata. The
so-called "Bad Lands" region of parts of South Dakota and Wyoming is
also essentially of this type, where deep, narrow valleys and sharp
ridges have been etched out of high, relatively soft, nearly horizontal
strata, resulting in an almost impassable maze of mountains. In the
high, recently upraised Colorado Plateau of parts of Arizona, New
Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, nearly horizontal strata are being etched
out, the result being numerous buttes, mesas (flat-topped hills and
mountains) and deep canyons, including the Grand Canyon with its maze
of peaks and pinnacles, many of them rising like mountains out of the
canyon depths.
Mountains of the pure types just described are not the prevailing
ones of the earth. Most mountains and their structures, as we see
them to-day, are products of two or more of the processes of folding,
faulting, igneous action, and erosion. A few well-known examples will
suffice to make this matter clearer. Thus, the Appalachian Mountains
originally developed by severe folding of thick strata. After
considerable erosion, numerous small and large thrust faults developed,
some of the dislocations amounting to miles. Then the whole range was
cut down nearly to sea level by erosion, after which the district was
upraised (without folding) mostly from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, and the
present long, narrow mountain ridges and valleys have been carved out
by stream erosion. Thus folding, faulting, and erosion all enter into
the height and structure of the Appalachians.
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