Inverted river channels in central Utah look similar to features on Mars—a clue that liquid water once might have flowed in abundance on the Red Planet.
Published Dec 4, 2012
A mountain-building event lifted up this area between 40 and 70 million years ago.
Published Nov 24, 2019
One hundred million years of rock formation are visible in exposed layers at Waterpocket Fold in Capital Reef National Park. This astronaut photo from June 14, 2009, shows the layered, multi-colored rock formations.
Published Jul 6, 2009
The Susquehanna River cuts through the folds of the Valley-and-Ridge province of the mountain chain.
Published Apr 12, 2020
The Zagros Mountains in southwestern Iran present an impressive landscape of long linear ridges and valleys. Formed by collision of the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates, the ridges and valleys extend hundreds of kilometers. Stresses induced in the Earth’s crust by the collision caused extensive folding of the preexisting layered sedimentary rocks. Subsequent erosion removed softer rocks, such as mudstone and siltstone while leaving harder rocks, such as limestone and dolomite. This differential erosion formed the linear ridges of the Zagros Mountains. This astronaut photograph of the southwestern edge of the Zagros mountain belt includes another common feature of the region—a salt dome (Kuh-e-Namak or “mountain of salt” in Farsi).
Published Apr 17, 2006
Sixty million years of erosion have exposed folded layers of rock.
Published Oct 3, 2007
Despite being quite close to each other, two mountain ridges in western Virginia have very different origins.
Published Mar 15, 2017
As the tallest mountain in the world, Everest is the standard to which all others are compared.
Published Jan 2, 2014
This ancient rock is one of Australia’s major tourist attractions and a sacred place for indigenous people.
Published Dec 19, 2016
The lack of soil and vegetation allows parallel lines and sweeping curves of geological structure to appear quite clearly.
Published Mar 31, 2014
Among the oldest mountains in the world, the Appalachian chain is now relatively low but visually striking.
Published Jan 7, 2013
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