Mountain-Building

Closa, Rocafort

Objectives
After this report, students will be able to
define what mountains are, understand how
mountains form, identify the different types of
mountains, and relate how the formation of
mountain ranges affect the formation of
continents.

Mountain-Terms

What are mountains?

Mountainsare the results of application of
tectonic forces to rocks, usually sedimentary
or volcanic rocks.
Mountainbuildingon
continents
is
associated with intense deformation, folding,
and faulting, usually along convergent plate
boundaries.

Orogeny orOrogenesis, is the overall

process by which a mountain system is built.
*The word orogeny came from theGreek
wordsorosmeaning "mountain
andgenesismeaning "creation" or "origin.

Mountain rangesare groups of mountain

peaks or ridges that form discrete topographic
areas that are usually bordered by valleys or
rivers.
Mountain belts are long chains of
mountain ranges that can extend across
continents or along their edges.

How Mountains Form

Closa, Rocafort

How do mountains form?

In general, it takes hundreds of millions of
years for mountain belts to form, stabilize,
and erode to become part of a stable craton.
This evolution is marked by three stages:
accumulation,
orogenesis,
and
uplift/blockfaulting.

Accumulation
Many mountains contain sequences of

sedimentary and volcanic rocks that reach

thicknesses of 2,000 to 3,000 meters.
Thick sequences of sandstone, shale, and
limestone with minor volcanic material
accumulate along passive continental
margins.
Limestones are rare to absent.
Graywackes are common and represent a
rapid accumulation of sediment from a nearby
magmatic arc.

Limestone
Graywacke

Orogenesis
Orogenesisis the mountainbuilding and
associated folding, faulting, deformation, and
metamorphism that result from the onset of
intense tectonic stress.
deepest

rocks are metamorphosed

schists, gneisses, and migmatites

Ocean-Continent, Arc-Continent,

Continent-Continent Convergence

into

Schist
Gneiss

Migmatite

Orogenies and Ocean-Continent

Convergence
1. deforms the accretionary wedge
2. metamorphoses rocks in the subduction

zone
3. creates a mountainous magmatic arc
4. develops foldandthrust belts on the backarc side of the magmatic arc

Ocean-Continent Convergence
1. deforms the accretionary wedge
2. metamorphoses rocks in the subduction zone
3. creates a mountainous magmatic arc
4. develops foldandthrust belts on the back-arc side of the magmatic arc

Orogenies and Arc-Continent

Convergence
1. intervening ocean is destroyed by

subduction
2. welds an island arc to the continental edge

Arc-Continent Convergence
1. intervening ocean is destroyed by subduction
2. welds an island arc to the continental edge

Orogenies and Continent-Continent

Convergence
1. collision of two continental masses
2. thick sedimentary sequences that formed

on both continental edges are squeezed

(resulting in the highest mountain ranges in the
world such as the Himalayas)

Continent-Continent Convergence
1. collision of two continental masses
2. thick sedimentary sequences that formed on

both

continental edges are squeezed

Post-Orogenic Uplift and BlockFaulting

the gradual uplift over tens of millions of

years is a result of isostatic adjustment.

Concept of Isostasy lighter, less-dense
continental crust floats higher on the mantle
than the denser oceanic crust.

Types of Mountains

Some types of mountains

Upwarped
Volcanic
Fault-Block (Horst and Graben)
Folded

Upwarped Mountains
generally the result of broad arching of the

crust or sometimes great vertical

displacement along a highangle fault

Upwarped Mountains

Black Hills, SD
Adirondack, NY

Mt.

Volcanic Mountains
accumulations of large amounts of volcanic

lavas and pyroclastic material around the

volcanic vent

Volcanic Mountains

Hawaii
Islands

Aleutian

Fault-Block Mountains
result from tensional stress
bounded by highangle normal faults
forms a series of horsts and grabens

Fault-Block Mountains

Grand Tetons, WY

Folded Mountains
Also known as complex mountains
created by intense compressional forces that

fold, fault, and metamorphose the rocks

Folded Mountains

Heavens Peak, MT
Valley,CA

Death

Mountains and the Formation

of Continents

Mountains and the Formation of

Continents
Accretions of terranes- the development of a

series of mountain belts along a continent's

margins increases the size of the continent by
adding new continental crust
Accreted terranes-those that appear to have

formed in place along a continent's margin

through accumulation and orogeny
Suspect terrane- ones that do not fit the
regional pattern or has conflicting age dates
Exotic terrane-ones that did not form naturally
through accretion and has likely collided with the
continental margin