Mountain BuildingMountain Building

The Himalayas

Harz Mountains in Germany

Mount Pinatubo

Rocky Mountains

Sierra Nevada

Catskills of New York

Black Hills of South Dakota

Mauna Kea

Guess the types of mountains…Guess the types of mountains…

So what exactly are the processes that take So what exactly are the processes that take place to form these mountains?place to form these mountains?

• Dome mountains– Magma pushes up but doesn't actually crack through

the surface, you can get a dome mountain – Without erupting onto the surface, magma pushes up

overlaying rock layers– Cools and forms hardened rock as source moves

away– Uplifted area created by rising magma is called a

dome– Over long periods of time, erosion wipes away the

outer layers of the mountain, exposing the dome-shaped cooled magma of harder rock

For a more

holistic view of

mountains…

So what exactly are the processes that take So what exactly are the processes that take place to form these mountains?place to form these mountains?

• Plateau mountains– Large flat areas pushed above sea level by

forces within the Earth or formed by layers of lava

– Plateau mountains are often found near folded mountains

– As years pass, streams and rivers erode valleys through the plateau

For a more

holistic view of

mountains…

So what exactly are the processes that take So what exactly are the processes that take place to form these mountains?place to form these mountains?

• Volcanic mountains– Self-explanatory!– More details in the future lessons!

Mountain BuildingMountain Building

• 3 stages(1) accumulation of sediments

(2) rock deformation and crustal uplift

(3) a period of crustal uplift caused by isostatic rebound and block-faulting

Stage 2: Rock Deformation and Stage 2: Rock Deformation and Crustal UpliftCrustal Uplift

• Fold mountains– Fold mountains are

formed when two plates collide head on

– Edges of each tectonic plate crumple and buckle

– Monocline, syncline, anticline,

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10k.html

Stage 3: Crustal Uplift caused by Stage 3: Crustal Uplift caused by Isostatic Rebound and Block-Faulting Isostatic Rebound and Block-Faulting

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10k.html

Stage 3: Crustal Uplift caused by Stage 3: Crustal Uplift caused by Isostatic Rebound and Block-Faulting Isostatic Rebound and Block-Faulting

• Fault-block mountains– Faults named according to type of stress that acting

on rock and nature of the movement of the rock blocks either side of the fault plane

• Normal (tensional)• Reverse (compressional)• Graben (tensional, subsidence)• Horst (compressional, uplift)• Transform

• What landform does faulting remind you of?