STAGES INVOLVING MOUNTAIN FORMATION
QUARTER 4 2024 | SCIENCE A (GEOSCI-10)
Orogeny
● result of tectonic plate movements
Orogens/Orogenic Belt
● deformed rocks formed during
orogenesis as the continental
plate crumples & pushes upwards,
which will result to a landmass
called mountain
Orogenesis
● explains that mountains are built
by internal processes thru
geologic time
● may be triggered by geothermal
heat generated by radioactive
decay in earth’s interior
Mountain
● may be defined as a location w
significantly higher elevation than
the surrounding area
● large & elevated landform formed
by tectonic force or volcanism
● distinguished by steeply sloping
sides & sharp/slightly rounded
ridges & peaks
PRIMARY FEATURES OF A
MOUNTAIN
✵ top or summit
✵ slope or side
✵ very steep valley between young
mountains known as gorge
Geomorphology
● scientific study of mountains
3 STAGES IN MOUNTAIN
FORMATION
Stage 1: Accumulation of Sediments
● igneous rocks & sediments form
mountain belts; the accumulated
layers can be hundreds of
Notes by Jorizzabel Garfin, 10-Moriah
kilometers thick & come from by
nearby landmasses
● particles that’re released from
rocks & sediments are then
transported to the edge of the
continental crust by weathering &
erosion
● these elements lithify beyond the
continents to form the limestones,
sandstones, & shales that make up
continental shelves, slopes, & rises
Stage 2: Orogenic Period of Rock
Deformation & Crustal Uplift
● the accumulated sediments are
deformed by compressional forces
caused by tectonic plate collisions
● there’re 3 types of tectonic
convergence:
✵ Arc-Continental
● wherein the island arc collides w
the edge of a continental plate
causing the sediments associated
w the arc adhere to the continent’s
margin over time
✵ Oceanic-Continental
● the collision of the ocean &
continental plates allows for the
accretion of marine sedimentary
deposits to the continent’s edge
✵ Continental-Continental
● when an ocean basin closes & 2
continental plates collide
● forms the mountain systems of the
Appalachian, Himalayas, & the
Urals
Stage 3: Period of Crustal Uplift Caused
by Isostatic Rebound & Block-Faulting
● final stage of orogenesis
● crustal uplift occurs due to
isostatic rebound & block-faulting
● isostatic rebound: exhibited when
a crust bends the lithosphere into
the asthenosphere causing the
lower layer to flow out of the way
● crust will then sink until it reaches
its buoyancy point
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 ● thru the erosional force, the plate tectonics between the
surface materials are removed, & northward-moving African,
weight of the crust becomes less, Arabian, & Indian plates & the
thus the continental crust makes Eurasian plates
an isostatic adjustment causing it
to float higher into the mantle
● this stage causes block-faulting, Mountain Belts
in which the tensional force exists ● several mountain ranges that runs
in a horizontal direction & breaks roughly parallel to each other
the continental crust into pieces of
smaller blocks
● each fault block moves vertically Himalayas
& in different orientation & ● highest & youngest mountain
elevation to compensate for the range in the world
tensional force & eventually ● origin dates back to Jurassic Era,
produce normal & graben faults which is about 80 million yrs ago
● the name “Himalaya” comes from
MOUNTAIN RANGES the Sanskrit language & means
QUARTER 4 2024 | SCIENCE A “house of snow” or “snowy range”
(GEOSCI-10) ● home of the world’s highest peak
including Mt. Everest
Mountain Range ● records an elevation of about 1000
ft (305 m)
● succession of many closely ● many peaks of Himalayas are
spaced mountains covering a regarded sacred in Buddhism &
particular portion of the earth Hinduism
● consist of several valleys & river
channels formed by water rushing
down from melting glaciers
● typically located either in the
Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide
Belt
● composed of several peaks &
each peak has its own physical
feature
● share a property of high altitude & Andes
hold a vast amount of water in
● longest mountain range in the
their areas
world
● has a distance of 4500 miles
Pacific Ring of Fire ● Andean peaks rise over 20,000 ft
(6096 m), thus only Himalayas &
● Circum-Pacific Seismic Belt:
Hindu Kush are higher than Andes
horse-shoe shaped region in the
● region for earthquake belts &
Pacific Ocean basin that’s
active volcanoes found in 4
characterized by a large number
volcanic zone
of earthquakes & volcanic
● divided into 3 sections:
eruptions
✵ Central Andes
Alpide Belt ● Chilean, Peruvian, & Bolivian
mountains
● mountain range that’s being
created by the ongoing collision of

Notes by Jorizzabel Garfin, 10-Moriah

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✵ Southern Andes
● Argentina & Chile
✵ Northern Andes
● Columbia, Ecuador, & Venezuela
The Appalachian
● oldest mountain range in North
America
● primary mountain system of the
Eastern Northern American
● stretches southwestward for about
1500 miles from Quebec, Canada
to Central Alabama, US
↪ Example:
✵ Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)
● highest peak standing at 6684 ft
✵ Mount Elbert
The Alps
● largest mountain system in Europe
● extends from Southeastern
France & Northern Italy
● the towering peaks, which is
approx 8000 ft, are covered w ice
& snow
● considered as the most
magnificent natural sight in the
continent
● Alpinism or Mountaineering is
believed to have originated in the
Alps
↪ Example:
Notes by Jorizzabel Garfin, 10-Moriah
✵ Mont Blanc (France)
● highest mountain in this mountain
range towering at 15, 782 ft above
sea level
Rocky Mountain
● major mountain range in Western
North America
● informally known as “Rockies”
● group of jagged, snow-capped
peaks that runs thru the western
part of Northern America
● includes all uplands & mountains
of New Mexico, British Columbia &
North Alberta in Canada & US
● approx length of this range is
6035 km
↪ Example:
● highest peak which stands at 4401
m
Great Dividing Range
● also called Eastern Highlands
● Australia’s most substantial
mountain range & the 3rd longest
land-based in the world
● mountain range that forms a
watershed
● stretches more than 3500 km
● serves as a settlement to
Australian aboriginal tribes
↪ Example:
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✵ Mount Kosciuszko
● Australia’s highest peak which
rises to a height of 2230 km above
sea level
MAJOR EFFECTS OF
NATURAL
CATASTROPHE
QUARTER 4 2024 | SCIENCE A
(GEOSCI-10)
Storm Surge
● caused by a low-pressure weather
system that raises the height of
the water higher than the ordinary
sea level & sending this volume of
water inland
● an abnormal rise of water
generated by a storm, over &
above the predicted astronomical
tides
● shouldn’t be confused w storm
tide, which is defined as the water
level rise due to the combination
of storm surge & astronomical tide
↪ Example:
✵ The storm surge that happened in
Tacloban that reached as high as 4 m (13
ft) since the city has a sloping terrain that
allows the waves from the sea to move up
a great height before crashing on land.
Tsunamis
Notes by Jorizzabel Garfin, 10-Moriah
● Japanese word for tidal wave or
big wave in the port
● the term was coined by fishermen
who returned to their ports after
their villages had been devastated
by a giant wave while the
fishermen had not seen any waves
in the open sea
● generated when the ocean floor
abruptly deforms & vertically
displaces the overlaying water
● seismic waves are formed from an
earthquake; produces a powerful
ocean wave that tends to be very
deep & w long distances between
peaks
● these waves are unnoticeable
while traveling in deep water, but
when it enters the shallow water,
the energy is forced to the surface
producing tall waves of high
velocity moving towards the inland
communities
6 FACTS ABOUT TSUNAMIS
1. A tsunami is a series of ocean
waves caused by an underwater
earthquake, landslide, or volcanic
eruption. More rarely, a tsunami
can be generated by a giant
meteor impact w the ocean. These
waves can reach heights of over
100 ft.
2. About 80% of tsunamis happen
w/i the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of
Fire”.
3. The 1st wave of a tsunami is
usually not the strongest,
successive waves get bigger &
stronger.
4. Tsunamis can travel at speeds of
about 500 miles or 805 kilometers
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 an hour, almost as fast as a jet ● can cause overtopping of dams &
plane. destruction of structures
5. If caught by a tsunami wave, it’s surrounding the bodies of water &
better not to swim, but rather to floods
grab a floating object & allow the
current to carry you
6. Tsunami means “harbor wave” in
Japanese (tsu = harbor + nami =
wave), reflecting Japan’s
tsunami-prone history.

Normal Tsunamis
● can travel from 30-50 km/h w
waves from 3-30 m high

Mega Tsunamis
● can generate hundred meters in
height, can travel at the speed of
a jet aircraft & get up to 20 km
inland

3 EVENTS THAT WILL PRODUCE

TSUNAMIS
1. A minimum of at least magnitude 7
on the Richter scale must be
recorded. Only from this intensity
seismic wave can release enough
energy that would vertically
displace water in the ocean or
sea.

2. The seabed must be lifted or

lowered by the quake. If the
seabed is displaced sideward, no
tsunami will occur despite high
earthquake intensity.

3. The epicenter of the earthquake

must be near to the Earth’s
surface.

Seiche
● refers to a large wave that moves
up & down instead of forward
● it oscillates in a closed space as a
lake, reservoir, or swimming pool
● caused by disturbance at the
crustal plates

Notes by Jorizzabel Garfin, 10-Moriah

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