Presentation Outline Title: Formation of the Rocky Mountains I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: The Colorado Rocky Mountains are one of the most beautiful sights. Do you ever wonder about the foundation of these mountains? B. Thesis: The formation of the Rocky Mountains consists of a variety of geological explanations. C. Credibility Statement: I am interested in this topic because I appreciate the beautiful scenery of Colorado and its many mountains. D. Preview of Main Points: Today I will talk about mountain formation, the ranges and faults of the Rockies, and the glacier behavior in them. Transition to Body: First, I will talk about mountain formation. II. Body A. Main Point 1: Mountain Formation 1. Mountains form as an effect of convergent …show more content…
The Never Summer Range is filled with decomposing igneous rocks. Under the range is a boundless thrust fault where Precambrian rocks pushed west dominate Mesozoic and younger rocks by 6 or more miles. Mid-Tertiary intrusions and late Tertiary lava flows cover the range with iron oxide color. Tertiary formations hold a significant place in the geological background of the Rocky Mountains. Transition to Main Point 3: Next, I will talk about the glacier behavior within the mountains. C. Main Point 3: Glacier Behavior 1. Higher up in the mountains, numerous glacial features become apparent. There is a wide upland leveled by an ice cap and bounded by glacier-carved cliffs, cirques, cirque lakes, and hanging valleys. Studies have recorded synchronies and asynchronies in glacier behavior beyond the Rocky Mountain area. Due to the mountains’ low altitude, they support a low number of niche glaciers. 2. The “Last Glacial Maximum” refers to the time during which most mountain glaciers and ice sheets acquired their peak extents of the last Pleistocene glaciation. In the Rocky Mountains, the Park Range was the northwesternmost area of considerable glaciation in Colorado. In addition, the Front Range, the northeasternmost Colorado range, was the discussion of paleoglacier investigations. Transition to Conclusion: In
The rocks are pebble to cobble sized basalt fragments. The samples collected ranged from 50mm to 120 mm. The rocks are angular. They have a gray, very fine ground mass. Fine plagioclase feldspars are visible throughout the ground mass and sparkle in the sunlight.
They suggest there are correlations between significant Appalachian building events and cessations of the basin subsidence. Their interpretation withdraws credit away from the popular thermal fit theory
(Harris, 2004) The downfaulting of Death Valley is correlated with the extension of the lithosphere in the Death Valley region, which plays a part to the uplifting associated with Sequoia – Kings Canyon National Park. The Batholiths of the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges are prominent in both parks, exposing “plumbing systems” in magma chambers that fed the volcanoes. “Magmatic differentiation” involves the crystallization of a magma with magma of a different chemical composition, creating more than one type of igneous rock, which can be seen in both Yosemite and Sequoia – Kings National Parks. (Harris, 2004, 748)
The Teton Range consists of a core of igneous and metamorphic Precambrian rocks overlain in most of the range by westward dipping sedimentary Paleozoic rocks. The Grand Teton Range consists of rocks ranging from the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic time periods. The erosion-resistant Precambrian rocks comprise the highest peaks of the Teton Range and are part of the Wyoming Craton. The oldest units (>2680 Ma), observed in the north, south, and the eastern part of the central Tetons, are Archean layered gneisses, including biotite gneiss, plagioclase gneiss, amphibole gneiss, and some amphibolite (Reed and
Conclusion Mount St Helens is a mountain that must be kept under constant surveillance as it is located close to large towns, the Volcano has the potential to wipe out a lot of wild life and urbanized area, and therefore it is crucial that we use all instruments available to measure any changes that may indicate volcanic activity. Questions 1) I ensured
The water that was created from the glaciers melting carried out a great deal of the leftover debris, which was sorted into different sizes such as gravel or pebbles, sand, silt or clay. All of the leftovers started to form in layers or beds in river ways, ponds, and in lakes to form what the geologist call glacio-lacustrine formations. Glacio-lacustrine formations is just a scientific phrase for a glacier melted and the materials that had been inside the glacier deposit into the lakes and rivers created by the melted
Also during its retreat, the Laurentide Ice Sheet also left behind a desolate landscape that only contained the spores of lichen. Eventually, that lichen sprouted and attracted birds which in turn eventually brought all life back to this once ice covered land mass (PBS). Today some of the rocky outcroppings that the
The heaviest materials, like boulders, would drop first and the lighter materials, like sand and pebbles, would drop further along the way (DNR, n.d.). Proof of glacial deposits in Michigan can be found by looking at the type of rock that is scattered in different geographic
On the other hand, the Mint Canyon Formation along Aqua Dulce Road consists of sedimentary rock that is mostly sandstone and conglomerate. On this stop we learned about the sediments that formed the rock and their deposition from a river 12 million year ago. Our two last stops covered material on faults and rocks. The Vasquez Rocks were said to be form from the San Andrea Fault, and the Vista Point of the San Andreas Fault also covered material on the
Most of the Spokane Valley is covered by lava of the Miocene Epoch age. During the Pliocene and Pleistocene, great volumes of loess derived from the continental ice sheet. The land surface faced much erosion after the Missoula
Monument Valley is the region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes and Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone primarily due to flash flooding and secondarily due to other sub-aerial processes. When we entered in these areas, we saw the marvelous spectacle
Kortenkamp, Steve, and WK Hartmann. “Impact at Cumberland Gap: Where Natural and National History Collide.” Planetary Science Institute, https://www.psi.edu/sites/default/files/newsletter/summer04/Summer04.pdf. Accessed 6 December 2022.