Structural basin

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A structural basin is a large-scale structural formation of rock strata formed by tectonic warping of previously flat lying strata. Structural basins are synonymous in some ways with geological depressions. Structural basins are distinct from a sedimentary basin which is a time-dependant aggregation of rocks which filled up a depression or accumulated within an area.

Structural basins are the inverse of a dome: a symmetrically-dipping syncline that appears on a geologic map as roughly circular or elliptical, with concentric layers. Because the strata dip toward the center, the exposed strata in a basin grow progressively younger from outside-in, with the youngest rocks in the center. Like domes, basins are often large in areal extent, a good example being the Michigan Basin.

[edit] See also

[edit] Reference

  • Monroe, James S., and Reed Wicander. The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-314-09577-2
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