GEOS 1004 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Thrust Fault, Caspian Sea, Gypsum
Document Summary
Exhumation is the process by which rocks are un-buried in the earth"s crust. Erosion is a constant process on earth"s surface due to the combined effects of gravity and dominantly water, both liquid and ice. Along active convergent boundaries, rocks can be brought near the surface from depth along. Key point: the combination of uplift and erosion allows materials from deep in the earth"s crust to be exposed at the surface. After mountain building ceases at convergence boundaries, the buoyancy of thickened crust causes gradual uplift. Erosion, combined with this gradual uplift, exposes the core of mountain ranges as they wear away. Key point: by understanding plate tectonic settings and exhumation, one can learn to predict where certain rock types, resources, etc. will occur. Blacksburg is located in the appalachian peripheral foreland basin. Sedimentary rocks (including the famed hokie stone) thus occur underneath blacksburg.
