2 ms·

Does this also explain the extended butte-and-valley terrain in the Southwest?

• njarboe 9y ago
  The butte-and-valley terrain, as you called it, is more from the uplift and slow erosion of a large area called the Colorado Plateau. The various sediments deposited on and off over a billion years or so have different erosion rates. When a thick, more weatherproof, sandstone overlies a more erodable shale you get those big cliffs and buttes. The area covered by Nevada, on the other hand, is being pulled apart over the whole state. This creates what is called a basin and range topography. The extension is mostly east-west and you can see the ranges and valleys mostly are north-south due to this. Lots of geothermal there as the spreading rock allows hot rock from below to move close to the surface.