Faulted Mountains and Valleys
When there are many normal faults in one area, a series of
mountains and valleys may form. Mountains formed by blocks
of rock uplifted by normal faults are called fault-block
mountains. A vast region in western North America called the
Cordilleran Mountain region contains many fault-block
mountains. The region extends from central Mexico to Oregon
and Idaho and includes western Utah, all of Nevada, and eastern
California.
A fault block mountain (left) is formed when a block (or blocks) of rocks between two normal
faults is pushed up. A rift valley (right) is formed when a block of rock between two normal faults
slides down.
Valleys also form when mountains form. Some valleys are
formed when the block of land between two normal faults slides
downward. Valleys created in this way are called rift valleys.
One example of a rift valley is Death Valley in California. It is a
long, narrow valley 87 meters below sea level. Scientists believe
that the valley was formed by a series of small movements along
two faults at either side of the valley. They estimate that the land
along the eastern fault of Death Valley will move another 3
meters during the next 1000 years.
Another example of a rift valley is the Great Rift Valley in the
Middle East and Eastern Africa. This valley contains the Dead
Sea, in Israel, the lowest spot on Earth, and Victoria Falls on the
Zambizi River, in Zimbabwe.
Folding
Sometimes when stress
is applied to the rocks
of the crust, the rocks
bend but do not break.
The rocks bend in much
the same way a rug
wrinkles as it is pushed
across a floor. A bend in
a rock is called a fold.
As you can see, a rock
can fold either upward
or downward. An
upward fold in a rock is
called an anticline (ANtih-klighn). A
downward fold in a rock
is called a syncline
(SIHN-klighn).
Folds vary in size. Some folds are
so small that you need a
magnifying glass to see them
clearly. Others are large enough to
form mountains. Layered rocks
with large folds often have smaller
folds within the layers. The
Appalachian Mountains in the
eastern United States are made up
of many anticlines and synclines.
This folded mountain chain
extends from Canada to Alabama.
Anticlines are upward folds in rocks.
Synclines are downward folds in rocks.
Some folds are quite large. The speck at the
top of the English hill is a person!
Even though an anticline is an upward fold, it is not always
higher than the surrounding land. An anticline can be under
hills, valleys, or flat areas. An anticline may be hidden by layers
of rock that build up in the low-lying areas around it after it
forms. Or the stress may not have been great enough to bring the
fold to the Earth's surface.
Fault or Fold?
A number of factors determine whether rocks will fault or fold.
One factor is temperature. If the rocks become extremely hot
during compression, they are more likely to fold than to fault.
Do you know why? If you ever left a box of crayons in the sun
when you were young, you may have firsthand experience with
the effect of temperature on folding and faulting. At normal
temperatures, crayons snap in two when stress is applied. In
other words, they fault. But warm crayons can bend without
breaking-they fold.
Another factor that affects whether rocks will fault or fold is
pressure. The greater the pressure applied to the rocks, the more
likely they are to fold rather than fault.
Rock type is yet another factor that determines whether rocks
will fault or fold. Some types of rocks break easily when stress
is applied. Such fragile rocks are said to be brittle. Sandstone is
one example of brittle rock. Other rocks, such as rock salt, bend
easily under stress. Rocks that bend easily are said to be ductile.
Ductile rocks are more likely to fold, whereas brittle rocks are
more likely to fault.
Another factor that determines whether rocks will fault or fold is
how the stress is applied to the rocks. If the stress is applied
gradually, the rocks will usually fold. But if the stress is applied
suddenly, the rocks will usually fault.
Plateaus
A plateau (pla-TOH) is a large area of flat land that is raised
high above sea level. You can get a pretty good idea of what a
typical plateau looks like if you place a sandwich on a plate and
look at it from the side. The flat layers of bread slices, cold cuts,
cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise (or whatever you put in
your sandwich) correspond roughly to the horizontal rock layers
that make up a plateau. Like a sandwich, a plateau is wider than
it is tall. In addition, a plateau is often surrounded by steep cliffs
that rise sharply from the surrounding land, much as a sandwich
rises above the surface of the plate on which it is placed.
Colorado Plateau
Although plateaus are often
raised up by the same
processes that form
mountains, the rock layers in
a plateau remain flat. (This is
not the case with mountains,
in which the rock layers are
tilted and broken by faulting
or are warped by folding.)
One way a plateau may be
formed is by a slow, flattopped fold. The Appalachian
Plateau, which lies just west
of the folded Appalachian
Mountains, was created
millions of years ago by such
a fold. This plateau covers
much of New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Kentucky, West Virginia, and
Tennessee.
Domes
Sometimes, magma pushes upward but does
not reach the Earth's surface. The stress
caused by the magma causes the rock layers
above it to fold upward, forming an uplifted
area. At some point, the magma cools and
forms hardened rock.
Over a long period of time, the uppermost rock layers
may be worn away to reveal the dome's core of hardened
magma
The uplifted area created by rising
magma is called a dome. A dome is a
raised area shaped roughly like the top
half of a sphere. The outline of a dome
is oval or circular. You can think of a
dome as rather like a blister on the
surface of the Earth. Like a blister, a
dome is formed when fluid collects
beneath the surface and pushes up on
overlying layers, forming a raised spot
in the immediate area but leaving the
surrounding regions flat and
undisturbed.
Domes that have been worn away in
places form many separate peaks called
dome mountains. The Black Hills of
South Dakota and Wyoming are dome
mountains. In this region, many layers
of flat-lying rocks were arched up.
Over a long period of time, the rocks on
top were worn away. The hardened
magma that caused the uplifting was
then exposed.
Earth's Changing Surface Focus Questions
1. What is stress?
2. Name the two major sections of the Earth's crust. How thick is each?
3. What are the three basic types of stress?
4. What is a fault? Name the two major parts of a fault.
5. What are the four types of faults? Describe each.
6. What type of stress causes a normal fault?
7. What type of stress causes a reverse fault?
8. What type of stress causes a lateral fault?
9. Describe what happens to cause a fault-block mountain.
10. Describe what happens to cause a rift valley.
11. What is the difference between a fault and a fold?
12. What is the difference between anticline and syncline?
13. What factors determine whether rocks fault or fold?
14. What causes a dome?