Fault-block mountain

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Fault-block mountains are produced when normal (near vertical) faults fracture a section of continental crust. Vertical motion of the resulting blocks, sometimes accompanied by tilting, can then lead to high escarpments. These mountains are basically formed by the earth's crust being stretched and extended. Tilted blocks are common in the Basin and Range region of the western United States. Level blocks lead to the horst and graben terrain seen in northern Europe. Fault block mountains commonly accompany rifting and are indicators of tensional tectonic forces.

Block Mountains can also be referred to as a horst. It is a steep-sided mountain, formed where a block of the earth's crust has been squeezed upward between two parallel fault lines.

Two examples of fault block mountains that are forming today are the Andes and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.

Schematic of the formation of Fault-Block Mountains.
Schematic of the formation of Fault-Block Mountains.

[edit] References

  • 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 (pp. 234,-8)


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