The Formation of Mountains

Preface
Contents
About the Author
1 The Structure of Mountains
1.1 The Riddle of the Glarus Thrust
1.2 Rocks and Dough
1.2.1 Fractures
1.2.2 Ductile Deformation
1.2.3 More or Less Competent
1.3 Types of Faults
1.4 Clefts
1.5 The Folded Jura
1.6 More About Folds and Thrusts
1.6.1 Folds and Overthrusts in the Helvetic Nappes
1.6.2 Duplex in the Moine Thrust Belt in Scotland
1.6.3 Backthrusts and Pop-Ups
1.7 Feldspar, Quartz and Mica
1.8 The Structure of Earth
1.9 Absolute and Relative Ages
1.10 A Short History of the Earth
1.10.1 Precambrian
1.10.2 Palaeozoic
1.10.3 Mesozoic
1.10.4 Cenozoic
References
2 The Rock Cycle
2.1 Carbonates
2.1.1 The Reefs of the Dolomites
2.1.2 Dolomitisation
2.2 Karst
2.2.1 Karst Springs and Ponors
2.2.2 Travertine
2.2.3 Caves
2.2.4 Sinkholes, Uvalas and Poljes
2.2.5 Fluviokarst
2.2.6 Glaciokarst
2.2.7 Tropical Karst
2.3 Evaporites
2.3.1 Marine Evaporites
2.3.2 Salt Lakes and Salt Pans
2.3.3 Salt and Tectonics
2.4 From Weathering to Deposition
2.4.1 Chemical Weathering
2.4.2 Physical Weathering
2.4.3 Mass Movements
2.4.4 Rainfall on Slopes
2.4.5 Erosion, Transport and Deposition by Rivers
2.4.6 Turbidity Currents in the Sea
2.4.7 From Sand to Sandstone
2.5 The Power of Ice
2.6 Sandstone Tables and Towers
2.6.1 Elbe Sandstone Mountains
2.6.2 Meteora
2.6.3 Wulingyuan
2.6.4 Tepui
2.7 Metamorphism
2.7.1 When Little Happens
2.7.2 Metamorphism of Basalt
2.7.3 Metamorphism of Claystone
2.7.4 P–T Paths and Large Crystals
2.8 Magmas
2.8.1 Melting in the Mantle
2.8.2 Differentiation of Magmas
2.8.3 Alkaline Rocks
2.8.4 Granite
Literature
3 Of Moving Plates, Volcanoes and Uplift
Abstract
3.1 Alfred Wegener and His Continental Drift
3.2 From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics
3.3 How Volcanoes Work
3.3.1 Hawaiian and Strombolian Eruptions
3.3.2 When Magma Meets Water
3.3.3 Ash Eruptions and Plinian Eruptions
3.3.4 Lava Domes and Obsidian Flows
3.3.5 Glowing Clouds and Lahars
3.3.6 Calderas and Ring Complexes
3.3.7 Fumaroles and Hydrothermal Systems
3.4 Mid-Ocean Ridges and the Oceanic Crust
3.4.1 Ophiolite Complexes in Cyprus and Oman
3.4.2 Naked Mantle Without a Shell
3.5 Uplift of a Mountain Range
3.5.1 Playing with Buoyancy
3.5.2 Denudation Rates
3.5.3 Uplift and Tectonics
3.6 Mountains and Climate
3.6.1 Volcanic Eruptions and Climate
3.6.2 Mountains and Climate Change
References
4 Mountains and Plunging Plates: Subduction Zones
4.1 Island Arcs and Active Continental Margins
4.1.1 Accretionary Wedge or Abrasive Paper
4.1.2 Magmas and Metamorphism
4.1.3 Diving into Hell
4.1.4 Compression and Extension
4.1.5 Mariana Arc
4.1.6 Sunda Arc in Indonesia
4.2 The Andes
4.2.1 Central Chile to Northern Patagonia
4.2.2 Aconcagua and the Sierras Pampeanas
4.2.3 Central Andes and the Altiplano
4.2.4 Snow White Behind the 30 Mountain Giants
4.2.5 Ecuador, Colombia and a Detour to Central America
4.2.6 Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
4.3 Subduction and Accretion on the Western Margin of North America
4.3.1 Mexico
4.3.2 The Mountains of the Western USA
4.3.3 The Rocky Mountains in Canada
4.4 Collision of Island Arcs and Obduction of Ophiolites
4.4.1 New Guinea
4.4.2 Taiwan
4.4.3 Philippines
References
5 Strike-Slip Faults with Complications
5.1 The Dead Sea and Mount Lebanon
5.2 Red River and Ailao Shan
5.3 The Southern Alps of New Zealand
5.4 Alaska
5.5 Altai
References
6 Great Rifts and Hot Spots
6.1 Hotspots and the Highest Mountains in the World
6.1.1 Hawaii
6.1.2 The Canary Islands
6.1.3 Iceland
6.1.4 Flood Basalts
6.1.5 Yellowstone
6.2 Introduction to Continental Rifting
6.3 The East African Rift
6.3.1 The Ethiopian Highlands, Afar, and the Turkana Depression
6.3.2 The Western Branch of the Rift System
6.3.3 The Eastern Branch of the Rift System
6.4 Rifts and Uplands in Central Europe
6.4.1 Upper Rhine Graben, Black Forest and Vosges
6.4.2 Alcove Lands and Swabian Jura
6.4.3 Ore Mountains, Thuringian Forest and Harz Mountains
6.5 The High Atlas
6.6 Mountains on Passive Continental Margins
6.6.1 Western Ghats in India
6.6.2 The Cape Fold Belt and the Great Escarpment in South Africa
6.6.3 Uplift in Scandinavia
6.7 Collision and Collapse in the Wild West
6.7.1 Basin and Range Province
6.7.2 The Recent Uplift of the Sierra Nevada
6.7.3 The Teton Range
References
7 The Roof of the World: High Mountains of Asia
7.1 Himalaya
7.1.1 The Early Stage of Collision
7.1.2 The Deep Structure of the Collision Zone
7.1.3 The Nappe Stack
7.1.4 Channel Flow or Orogenic Wedge?
7.1.5 Uplift, Erosion and Climate
7.1.6 Both Ends of the Himalayas
7.2 Evasive Crustal Blocks
7.3 Tibet
7.3.1 The Terranes of Tibet
7.3.2 Uplift and Deformation of the Plateau
7.4 Karakoram, Ladakh and Hindu Kush
7.5 High Mountains in Central Asia
7.5.1 Pamir
7.5.2 Tian Shan
7.6 High-Pressure Rocks: Into the Depths and Back Again
7.6.1 Accretionary Wedge and Subduction Channel
7.6.2 Continental Ultra-High-Pressure Rocks
7.6.3 Eclogites on the Nordfjord in Norway
7.7 A Patchwork Quilt in the Middle East
7.7.1 Zagros
7.7.2 Alborz and Kopetdag
7.7.3 Caucasus
7.7.4 Anatolia
References
8 The Alps and Their Siblings
8.1 An Overview of the Alps
8.2 An Ocean Emerges
8.2.1 A Shallow Sea Floods the Continent
8.2.2 Opening of a Deep Ocean
8.2.3 Eo-Alpine Orogeny and the Austroalpine Nappes
8.2.4 The Maximum Extent of the Ocean
8.3 The Collision in the Alps
8.3.1 The Accretion Wedge Becomes a Mountain Range
8.3.2 Around Zermatt
8.3.3 Slab Break-Off and Late Phase of Mountain Building
8.3.4 A View Through the Tauern Window
8.3.5 The Recent History
8.4 Between the Apennines and Gibraltar
8.4.1 Corsica and Sardinia
8.4.2 Apennine Mountains
8.4.3 Tell Atlas, Rif and Betic Cordillera
8.4.4 Calabria, Sicily and the Volcanoes of South Italy
8.5 Pyrenees
8.6 East of the Alps and the Adriatic Sea
8.6.1 Dinarides and Hellenides
8.6.2 Hellenic Arc and the Aegean Sea
8.6.3 Carpathians and Balkan Mountains
8.7 Time Travel to the Palaeozoic Mountain Formations
8.7.1 The Caledonian Orogeny
8.7.2 The Variscan Orogeny
Literature
Glossary
Index