MountainsMountainsGeology 12 - Chapter 20Geology 12 - Chapter 20

OrogenyOrogeny• Mountains are the result of tectonic

forces to rock .• Orogeny is the process by which a

mountain is built.• Mountain-building on continents is

associated with intense deformation, folding, and faulting, usually along convergent plate boundaries.

Ranges versus BeltsRanges versus Belts• Ranges are groups of mountain peaks or

ridges that form areas bordered by valleys or rivers.

• Mountain belts are long chains of mountain ranges that can extend across continents or along their edges.

BeltsBelts• Typically 1000 of kilometers long and 100

kilometers across (wide)

• Parallel to continental coastlines

• The taller the mountains the younger (example steeper rocky mountains are younger than the rounded Appalachian) WHY?

7 Major Mountain belts7 Major Mountain belts

• North American Cordillera – “backbone" of North America, Central America and South America

• Andes – on the western coast of South America• Appalachians/Caledonides – North America

spanning continents to Scandanavia

• Pyrenees – Europe between France and Spain

• Alps - Europe• Urals - Russia• Himalaya – Asia and includes Everest and

K2

RockiesRockies

The American Cordillera is a series of steep mountain ranges that rim the western edge of North and South America; it is one of the longest mountain belts in the world.

*It includes the Rocky Mountain range!

AndesAndes• The Andes Mountains are located in South

America, running north to south along the western coast of the continent.

• The Andes Mountains are the longest and one of the highest mountain ranges in the world.

• They are located in South America and stretch 4,500 miles from north to south, along the west coast of the continent.

AndesAndes

AppalachiansAppalachians

AppalachiansAppalachians• The Appalachian Mountains are a vast

system of mountains in eastern North America. The range is mostly located in the USA but extends into southeastern Canada.

• 160 to 480 km wide, running from NFLD 2,400 km south-westward to central Alabama

• The system is divided into a series of ranges. Individual mountains averaging around 3,000 ft (900 m).

• The highest of the group is Mt. Mitchell in NC 2037m high.

Appalachian Appalachian MountainsMountains

CaledonidesCaledonides• The Caledonides are the ancient mountain

range that stretched from the Appalachians in North America, through the Atlantic plates, to Scandinavia.

• It was caused by the closure of the Iapetus Ocean when the continents and terranes of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia collided. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_orogeny

• They are a remnant of a former age, the result of continental drift.

CaledonidesCaledonides

UralsUrals• The Ural Mountains runs roughly north

and south through western Russia.

• They are sometimes considered as the natural boundary between Europe and Asia.

• Stretching 2,400 km north and south from the Arctic tundra to the deserts of the Caspian Sea.

• Has the highest peaks, Naroda and Telpos-Iz.

UralsUrals

AlpsAlps• The Alps are in Europe stretching

from Austria and Slovenia in the east to Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west.

• Alps (Latin albus meaning white or altus meaing high)

• The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc (4808m) on the French-Italian border.

AlpsAlps

PyreneesPyrenees• The Pyrenees are mountains in

southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain.

• They separate the Iberian Peninsula from France, and extend for about 430 km from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

• Older than the Alps.

PyreneesPyrenees

HimalayaHimalaya• Together, the Himalaya mountain system

is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks: including Mount Everest.

• To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua in the Andes at 6,962 m, is the highest peak outside the Himalaya, while the Himalayan system has over 100 separate mountains exceeding 7,200 m.

• The Himalayas stretch across 6 nations: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

HimalayaHimalaya