Mountains the origins of the Earth's mountain systems
The Earth's active mountain systems are explained, describing how plate tectonic processes have shaped them. It then looks more briefly at some of the older mountain systems whose tectonic origins are more obscure. It will inform both amateur and professional geologists
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| Format: | UnknownFormat |
| Sprache: | eng |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Edinburgh ; London
Dunedin
2018
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Tag hinzufügen | Zusammenfassung: | The Earth's active mountain systems are explained, describing how plate tectonic processes have shaped them. It then looks more briefly at some of the older mountain systems whose tectonic origins are more obscure. It will inform both amateur and professional geologists Most mountains on Earth occur within relatively well-defined, narrow belts separated by wide expanses of much lower-lying ground. Their distribution is not random but is caused by the now well-understood geological processes of plate tectonics. Some mountains mark the site of a former plate collision – where one continental plate has ridden up over another, resulting in a zone of highly deformed and elevated rocks. Others are essentially volcanic in origin. The most obvious mountain belts today – the Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes, for example – are situated at currently active plate boundaries. Others, such as the Caledonian mountains of the British Isles and Scandinavia, are the product of a plate collision that happened far in the geological past and have no present relationship to a plate boundary. These are much lower, with a generally gentler relief, worn down through millennia of erosion. |
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| Beschreibung: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 195-197 |
| Beschreibung: | xi, 212 Seiten Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten |
| ISBN: | 9781780460666 978-1-78046-066-6 9781780465807 978-1-78046-580-7 |