How do basins and ranges form

Basin and Range topography is characterized by alternating valleys and mountainous areas, oriented in a north-south, linear direction. The entire region, including all of Nevada, southeastern California, and southeastern Oregon, consists of high mountain ranges mostly running north-south alternating with low valleys.

The formation of this topography is directly related to tectonic forces that led to crustal extension pulling of the crust in opposite directions. After the Laramide Orogeny —the mountain-building event that created the Rockies—ended in the Paleogene , tectonic processes stretched and broke the crust, and the upward movement of magma weakened the lithosphere from underneath.

Around 20 million years ago, the crust along the Basin and Range stretched, thinned, and faulted into some mountain blocks. The pressure of the mantle below uplifted some blocks, creating elongated peaks and leaving the lower blocks below to form down-dropped valleys. How to Make a Mountain Learn how to make fault-block mountains. Students will understand the geologic forces that form and shape mountains, and more.

Read the curriculum on the teachingboxes. You Might Also Like. Loading results Tags: geology physiographic province basin and range great basin sonoran desert salton trough mexican highland sacramento texas arizona idaho nevada new mexico utah california mountains education inventory.

Related Articles Go! Related People Loading results Related Places Loading results Conversely, the rock below the fault line is down dropped because there is a space created by the divergence of lithospheric plates. As the crust continues to move, it stretches and becomes thinner, creating more faults and areas for rocks to drop into gaps. The results are the basins also called grabens in geology found in basin and range systems.

One common feature to note in the world's basins and ranges is the extreme amount of erosion that occurs on the peaks of the ranges. As they rise, they are immediately subject to weathering and erosion. The rocks are eroded by water, ice, and wind and particles are quickly stripped and washed down the mountainsides.

This eroded material then fills the faults and collects as sediment in the valleys. Within the Basin and Range Province, the relief is abrupt and the basins normally range from 4, to 5, feet 1, 1, m , while most of the mountain ranges climb 3, to 5, feet , m above the basins. Death Valley , California is the lowest of the basins with its lowest elevation of feet m.

Conversely, Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range to the west of Death Valley has an elevation of 11, feet 3, m , showing the enormous topographic prominence within the province. In terms of the Basin and Range Province's physiography, it features a dry climate with very few streams and internal drainage a result of the basins. Although the area is arid, much of the rain that does fall accumulates in the lowest basins and forms pluvial lakes such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah and Pyramid Lake in Nevada.

The valleys are mostly arid however and deserts such as the Sonoran dominate the region. Today, U. Highway 50 crosses the region and crosses five passes over 6, feet 1, m and is considered "The Loneliest Road in America.

Western Turkey is also cut by an easterly trending basin and range landscape that extends into the Aegean Sea. Where ever basins and ranges occur, they represent an enormous amount of geologic history as it takes millions of years to form to the extent of those found in the Basin and Range Province.

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