Orogenic belt from Asthenosphere by Lethave Plank
An Orogenic belt means a zone affected by an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An orogenic belt develops when a continental plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges; this involves a series of geological processes collectively called orogenesis.
The word "orogeny" (/ɒrˈɔːdʒəni/) comes from Ancient Greek (ὄρος, óros, lit. ''mountain'' + γένεσις, génesis, lit. ''creation, origin''). Although it was used before him, the term was employed by the American geologist G. K. Gilbert in 1890 to describe the process of mountain-building as distinguished from epeirogeny.
Orogenic belts are elongated regions of deformation bordering continental cratons. Young orogenic belts, in which subduction is still taking place, are characterized by frequent volcanic activity and earthquakes. Older orogenic belts are typically deeply eroded to expose displaced and deformed strata. These are often highly metamorphosed and include vast bodies of intrusive igneous rock called batholiths.
Orogenic belts are associated with subduction zones, which consume crust, thicken lithosphere, produce earthquake and volcanoes, and often build island arcs. These island arcs may be added to a continental margin during an accretionary orogeny. The orogeny may culminate with continental crust from the opposite side of the subducting oceanic plate arriving at the subduction zone. This ends subduction and transforms the accretional orogeny into a collisional orogeny. The collisional orogeny may produce extremely high mountains, as has been taking place in the Himalayas for the last 65 million years.
Tracklist
| 1. | Orogenic belt | 15:59 |
