All Topics  
Tectonic uplift

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Tectonic uplift
 
 
  Topics Tectonic uplift Topic Home

Tectonic uplift is a geological
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 process most often caused by plate tectonics
Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, understood during the 1960s....
 which increases elevation. The opposite of uplift is subsidence
Subsidence

In geology, engineering, and surveying, subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is Tectonic uplift, which results in an increase in elevation....
, which results in a decrease in elevation. Uplift may be orogenic
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 or isostatic.

Orogenic uplift
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 is the result of tectonic plate collisions and results in mountain ranges or a more modest uplift over a large region. The Himalaya were (and are still being) formed by the collision of two continental plates, the Indian and Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate

The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia....
s.






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



Encyclopedia


Tectonic uplift is a geological
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 process most often caused by plate tectonics
Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, understood during the 1960s....
 which increases elevation. The opposite of uplift is subsidence
Subsidence

In geology, engineering, and surveying, subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is Tectonic uplift, which results in an increase in elevation....
, which results in a decrease in elevation. Uplift may be orogenic
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 or isostatic.

Orogenic uplift
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 is the result of tectonic plate collisions and results in mountain ranges or a more modest uplift over a large region. The Himalaya were (and are still being) formed by the collision of two continental plates, the Indian and Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate

The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia....
s. This ongoing collision produced the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India....
 as well as the Himalaya and associated ranges. The Ozark Plateau is a broad uplifted area which resulted from the Ouachita Orogeny
Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and Kiamichi country Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift....
 to the south during the Permian
Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Roderick Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian system" after the ancient kingdom...
 Period. Another related uplift is the Llano Uplift
Llano Uplift

The Llano Uplift is a roughly circular Dome of Precambrian rock, primarily granite, in Central Texas Texas in the United States. It is located in the eastern region of the Edwards Plateau, west of the Texas Hill Country....
 in Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, a geographical location named after its uplift features. The Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a United States physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States....
 with its spectacular scenic canyons, the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona....
, is also the result of broad tectonic uplift followed by river erosion.

Isostatic uplift
Isostasy

Isostasy is a term used in geology to refer to the state of gravity equilibrium between the earth's lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates "float" at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density....
 includes the gradual uplift following rapid erosional
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 removal of material from a mountain range. The land rises as a result of the removal of the weight. Another example of isostatic uplift is post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound

Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostatic depression....
 following the melting of continental glacier
Glacier

A glacier is a large, slow-moving mass of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity and high pressure....
s and ice sheets. The Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
 region of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
 of Canada and the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 are currently undergoing gradual rebound as a result of the melting of the ice sheets 10,000 years ago.

In a few cases, tectonic uplift can be seen in the cases of coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
 islands. This is evidenced by the presence of various oceanic islands comprised entirely of coral, which otherwise appear to be high island
High Island

High Island may refer to:...
s (i.e., islands of volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 origin). Examples of such islands are found in the Pacific
Pacific Islands

The Pacific Ocean contains an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands . Those islands lying south of the tropic of Cancer but excluding Australia are traditionally grouped into three divisions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia....
, notably the three great phosphate
Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
 rocks
Islet

File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpgAn islet is a small island....
, Nauru
Nauru

Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island nation in the Micronesian Pacific Ocean....
, Makatea
Makatea

Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a Tectonic uplift coral island in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser Islands group....
, and Banaba
Banaba Island

Banaba Island , an island in the Pacific Ocean, is a solitary tectonics coral island west of the Gilbert Island and 300 km east of Nauru. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati....
 as well as Fatu Huku
Fatu Huku

Fatu Huku is a small island in the Marquesas Islands, nearly halfway between Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva.Fatu Huku is located at 9.43?S latitude and 138.93?W longitude, and consists primarily of a high plateau that rises to 361 m ....
 in the Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands are a group of volcano islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9? 00S, 139? 30W....
 and Henderson Island
Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)

Henderson Island is an uninhabited tectonic uplift coral island in the south Pacific Ocean, annexed to the Pitcairn Islands colony in 1902. Measuring 6 miles long and 3.2 miles wide, Henderson Island has an area of 14.4 square miles and is located 120 miles northeast of Pitcairn Island at ....
 in the Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson Island , Ducie Island and Oeno Island Islands, are a group of four volcano islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
. The uplift of these islands is the result of the movement of oceanic tectonic plates. Sunken islands or guyot
Guyot

A guyot /gi??/, also known as a tablemount, is a flat-topped seamount. It was named after the Swiss-American geographer and geologist Arnold Henry Guyot ....
s with their coral reefs are the result of crustal subsidence as the oceanic plate carries the islands to deeper or lower oceanic crust areas.

See also

  • Ridge
    Ridge

    A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size....


External links