All Topics  
Rhine rift

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Rhine rift
 
 
  Topics Rhine rift Topic Home

The Upper Rhine valley (Oberrheinische Tiefebene) describes the Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine

The Upper Rhine is the part of the Rhine that flows northbound after Basel, Switzerland, along the Rhine rift, and then westward to Bingen am Rhein, Germany....
 area on the earth's surface, while the Upper Rhine Rift (Oberrheingraben) is the geological formation below.

The Rhine Rift is a striking reminder of the tectonic plates
Tectonic Plates

Tectonic Plates is a 1992 independent Canadian film directed by Peter Mettler. Mettler also wrote the screenplay based on the play by Robert Lepage....
 that created Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. Rift valleys are usually formed when two plates pull apart, thus causing land to collapse into the gap. However, the Rhine Rift is believed to have formed a different way.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Rhine rift'
Start a new discussion about 'Rhine rift'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Upper Rhine valley (Oberrheinische Tiefebene) describes the Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine

The Upper Rhine is the part of the Rhine that flows northbound after Basel, Switzerland, along the Rhine rift, and then westward to Bingen am Rhein, Germany....
 area on the earth's surface, while the Upper Rhine Rift (Oberrheingraben) is the geological formation below.

The Rhine Rift is a striking reminder of the tectonic plates
Tectonic Plates

Tectonic Plates is a 1992 independent Canadian film directed by Peter Mettler. Mettler also wrote the screenplay based on the play by Robert Lepage....
 that created Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. Rift valleys are usually formed when two plates pull apart, thus causing land to collapse into the gap. However, the Rhine Rift is believed to have formed a different way. It is believed that the plates knitted together over 40 million year
Year

A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit....
s ago and this caused a long strip of rock to drop between the two continent
Continent

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia ....
al massifs, the Vosges
Vosges

This article is about the department of France named Vosges. For the mountain range, see Vosges Mountains.Vosges is a France departments of France, named after the local Vosges Mountains....
 in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 and the German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Black Forest
Black Forest

The Black Forest is a forest mountain range in Baden-W?rttemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south....
.

It was initially thought that the rift was inactive. However, scientists have detected signs of movement underneath the surface. Faults within stable continental interiors rarely rupture, however if they do, the earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 could be sudden and extremely violent.

Northwest Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
's worst earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
, the Basel earthquake, occurred in 1356 in the Upper Rhine valley, destroying the Swiss city
City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
 of Basel
Basel

Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 731,000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's third-largest urban area....
 and destroying buildings as far as 200km away. Some geologists believe the earthquake was not caused by the Rhine Rift but by a fault
Geologic fault

In geology, a fault or fault line is a planar Fracture in rock in which the rock on one side of the fracture has moved with respect to the rock on the other side....
 in the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
. However, Basel may become seriously affected by a huge earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 released by the Rhine Rift, because an active fault has not been discovered southwest of the city
City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
.

In 1992, an earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 along the Peel Fault which is further down the Rhine, rocked the town of Roermond
Roermond

Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a Diocese of Roermond in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the east bank of the river Maas ....
 in the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
.