Origin of high mountains in the continents: the southern Sierra Nevada
Wernicke B, Clayton R, Ducea M, Jones CH, Park S, Ruppert S, Saleeby JB, Snow JK, Squires L, Fliedner M, Jiracek G, Keller R, Klemperer S, Luetgert J, Malin P, Miller K, Mooney W, Oliver HW, Phinney R. 1996. Origin of high mountains in the continents: the southern Sierra Nevada. Science. 271(5246):190-193
Active and passive seismic experiments show that the southern Sierra, despite standing 1.8 to 2.8 km above its surroundings, is underlain by crust of similar seismic thickness. Data imply the crust of both the high Sierra and adjacent Basin and Range thinned by a factor of 2 since 20 million years ago. This is at odds with purported late Cenozoic regional uplift of some 2 km.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Wernicke, Brian; Clayton, Robert; Ducea, Mihai; Jones, Craig; Park, Stephen; Ruppert, Stan; Saleeby, Jason; Snow, J; Squires, Livia; Fliedner, Moritz; Jiracek, George; Keller, Randy; Klemperer, Simon; Luetgert, James; Malin, Peter; Miller, Kate; Mooney, Walter; Oliver, Howard; Phinney, Robert
- Units
- SEKI
- Keywords
- Crust (Earth's), Geology, Physical Sciences, Seismicity, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks CA, Sierra Nevada