The Grand Canyon is a sided mountain carved by the Colorado River. The origin of the Grand Canyon is tied down to the tectonic erosion of the Colorado Plateau. The formation of the Grand Canyon is a big mystery. What we can say, is that its rock layers give us clues of how tectonic erosion occurred in the Grand Canyon. Some of those rocks can be age determined, but some can’t. Some of the rocks that can be age determined are the igneous rocks, and those rocks that can’t be age determined are the metamorphic rocks. The igneous rocks are one of the three main rocks. The metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types, which make changes due to heat and pressure. Different dating techniques are still being used to determine the age of the rocks, although the techniques don’t work for all the rocks. The rocks in the Grand Canyon are classified by different geologic periods such as; Pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian. The rocks, after having their age determined if possible, they are placed in the Geologic Period table so that us scholars can have an idea of how old the rocks are. There are many theories surrounding the formation of the Grand Canyon, but none really have been one hundred percent accepted as the main one. Some theories surrounding the Grand Canyon’s formation include those such as, tectonic erosion of the Colorado Plateau, continental drift caused the Grand Canyon to rise because it was under sea, and many others that will be discussed later on this report.…
Tectonic plate’s movement creates ocean basins, mid-ocean ridges, through collision. Colliding plates push sedimentary materials into an uplifted mass of rock that contains numerous folds and faults. The Earth has undergone a number of mountain building periods. The process of creation is first by the accumulation of sediments then the tectonic collision causes rock deformation and crystal uplift and finally the isocratic rebound continues to cause uplift despite erosion and causes the development of new mountain peaks through block faulting.…
10 million years ago: Mountains formed in North America (Rockies, Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and Appalachians).…
Yucca Mountain. Just a mountain you may think, but not just any mountain. A mountain that our Congressmen decided would be a great repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste. 196 billion dollars were spent towards this project. Back in 1987, this project was the ideal project to store radioactive waste. As the 1990’s and 2000’s crept in, Nevada’s residents were against this idea big time. Funding for the Yucca Mountain Repository was discontinued by Congress in February 2010. I disagree with this discontinuation.…
1. Research on the Front Range Mountains located in the Rocky Mountain region has brought about a lot of findings that they intend to share with the rest of the community. Over 1 billion years ago, molten rock was dispersed throughout the world. In time, this molten rock would form together which in turn formed the continents in which we live today. This is true for Pikes Peak as well. Being the tallest mountain of the region (standing at 14,278 feet) there is much for tourists to be attracted too.…
The predominant type of rock in Rocky Mountain National Park is granite, which is an igneous rock. There are two types of granite present in the park; Pikes Peak granite and silver plume granite. Pikes Peak granite is easily identified by its salmon pink color, created by an abundance of orthoclase feldspar. There are also whitish clear quartz crystals and pieces of dark, flaky, shiny mica. Silver plume granite which is more of a mottled black and white coloration due to the presence of a different type of feldspar and the continued presences of quartz and mica.…
As the African tectonic plate GRADUALLY pushed the edge of the tectonic plate and the original horizontal layers of the rocks went folded or bent by the faults. Large amounts of older, buried rocks were pushed northwestward, up and over younger rocks along a large nearly flat lying thrust fault, know now as the great smoky fault. After the natural process of the Appalachian mountain building the supercontinent of Pangea broke apart and the North American and African tectonic plates GRADUALLY moved to their present position. The mountains the currents ones suffered a process of an intense erosion from ice, wind, and water. It was so big that TREMENDOUS amounts of eroded sediments were transported toward the Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico by rivers and streams. Some sediments formed the Gulf of Mexico beaches. As the mountains worn down, the layers of rock most resistant to erosion were left to form the highest peaks in The Great Smoky Mountains, such as waterfalls. Today, geologists’ estimate that the…
For many millions of years, from the end of the Precambrian to the Early Mississippian, the Ouachita-Ozark Highlands region lay submerged beneath the sea. Along this tectonically inactive margin, shaped by the prior breakup of a supercontinent, sediment eroded from the land and was gradually carried to the sea floor. Thousands of feet of carbonate, sand, and finer grained material loaded onto the submerged continental margin. During the Mississippian the inactive tectonics became active convergent boundaries. The southeast coast of America was now on a collision course with a smaller plate once connected to Africa and South America, known as the Caribbean plate. For years and years to come following the convergent plate’s activities; thrust faults and folds piled up marine sediments and rocks, which resulted in an orogenic process which lead to the building up of the Ouachita-Appalachian mountain system. This was one of the final events in the formation of Pangaea. Once the collision of the plates stopped, exposure and uplift occurred with this mountain system, which means this mountain system was now being exposed to weathering and erosion. Finally when the range was complete Pangea started to break apart during the Jurassic, which lead to the mountain system breaking apart. During this period South America started to head southward and the Gulf of Mexico was formed from the seafloor opening up, as well as the coastal plains started to get some density to them. (USGS,…
Rocky Mountain National Park is a park in Boulder, Colorado that was formed about 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago from the collision of the North American plate and the Pacific Plate. Within Rocky Mountain National Park there are many other geologic features such as majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments. The area occupied by the park has been repeatedly uplifted and eroded. Although many of its mountaintops have been flattened by ancient erosion, recent glaciation has left steep scars, U-shaped valleys, lakes, and moraine deposits. The Park's oldest rocks were produced when plate movements subjected sea sediments to intense pressure and heat. “The resulting metamorphic rocks (schist and gneiss) are estimated to be 1.8 billion years old. Later, large intrusions of hot magma finally cooled about 1.4 million years ago to form a core of crystalline igneous rock (mostly granite).”( NPS) The Rocky Mountain National Park also includes the Continental Divide, which is the hydrological divide of America that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.…
The Appalachian Mountains are full of beautiful lakes, waterfalls, and wildlife that are in danger because of climate change. Action needs to be taken to preserve Virginia's gorgeous environment and regular people have taken action to reduce their carbon footprint. Even if people don't believe what they do will help, each little thing adds up to something big; everyone is able to help the fight against the effects of climate change in Virginia.…
The Rocky Mountains are located along the east side of the Western Cordillera. They were formed by folding and faulting sedimentary rock. The area also contains many fossils. The Columbia Mountains are composed of mainly sedimentary rock with some intrusives of metamorphic rock. In addition, it too is located along the east of the Western Cordillera. The Interior Plateau consists of rugged plateaus divided by deep river valleys composed of metamorphic and igneous rock. It is located in the centre of the Western Cordillera. Lastly, the Coast Mountain Region is composed of igneous and metamorphic rock and it is found along the western side of the Western…
In the book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Paul Farmer made and continues to make a profound difference in the world. He was extremely successful because of the help he received from people who surrounded him. Partners In Health (PIH), Farmer’s organization, gives healthcare to people who cannot afford it and treatment to those with tuberculosis and AIDS. Although he was a founding advocate to the success of Partners In Health, Farmer would not have accomplished all that he did without the aid from others. Usually, it takes a group of people with the same goals in order to make a change in the world. Not everyone in the world can drop his/her entire life and put as much effort into saving the world as Paul Farmer did. However, he had many dedicated people who helped him. Without Ophelia Dahl, Tom White, and Jim Yong Kim, Paul Farmer would not have been nearly as successful as he is today.…
According to Farmer, what is the connection between poverty and disease? What does Farmer say on this theme, and what are your initial thoughts about this idea?…
1. What conditions existed in what is today the United States that made it "fertile ground" for a great nation?…
Another significant mountain in the range lies right up the US395 and is called Mammoth Mountain. Mammoth is actually an active volcano and was formed through a series of volcanic eruptions throughout the…
