Chapter 9: Geological Structures and Mountain Building

Mountain Belts

Ranges of mountains linked together

Orogens

Mountain building process

Uplift

Vertical rise of the land surface and rock beneath

Deformation

Bending, breaking, or flowing of rocks

Joints

Naturally formed cracks in rock

Faults

Fractures where rocks slide past each other

Folds

Bends or wrinkles in rock layers

Foliation

Layering in rock due to mineral alignment

Strain

Change in shape of an object due to deformation

Stress

Push, pull, or shear on a material

Elastic Deformation

Reversible deformation

Brittle Deformation

Cracking and fracturing of a material

Ductile Deformation

Mineral grains behave like plastic

Shear Stress

Stress causing parts of a rock to move sideways

Joints

Naturally formed cracks in rocks

Vein

Mineral-filled crack in rocks

Fault

Fracture where sliding occurs

Anticlines

Upward folds in rock layers

Synclines

Downward folds in rock layers

Suture

Boundary between blocks that collided

Isostasy

Equilibrium between buoyancy and gravity in lithosphere

Craton

Stable crust unaffected by orogeny