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Introduction: The Rio Grande Rift is a geologically young feature in the central Rocky Mountains. The Rio Grande Rift runs from mid Colorado south through New Mexico into western Texas and finally culminates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Rio Grande Rift separates the geologic provinces of the Colorado Plateau from the Great Plains of the mid-west. The Rio Grande Rift consists of a number of basins, faults, and volcanically active zones. The Rio Grande Rift is one of Earth’s major continental rifts The Colorado plateau is moving away from the Great Plains this suggests that the North American plate may be breaking apart.
Methodology: The Rio Grande Rift and surrounding areas have been studied by using a variety of remote sensing and geophysical data to investigate exposed faults and basin structures. ...
Discussion: The first occurrence of continental rifting that produced the Rio Grande Rift is associated uplift and stretching, which occurred in what is now the southwestern United States approximately 29 million years ago. ... The second stage of extension of the Rio Grande Rift began in the mid-Miocene approximately 17 million years ago and continued into the Quaternary. ... Extension of the Rio Grande Rift continues today.
Volcanism occurred with the onset of rifting in the early rift basins. Expansion caused the crust under the rift zone to thin, this made it possible for magma to rise to the surface.
Approximate Word count = 1119
Approximate Pages = 4.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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