Zagros MountainsThis satellite image depicts the extraordinary setting of Southern Iran, near Karmow
Zagros MountainsThis satellite image depicts the extraordinary setting of Southern Iran, near Karmowstaj, and is packed full of great geology.The topography here is created by the folding of the bedrock. Anticlines form the mountains, and synclines underlie the valleys. These folds are part of the textbook fold and thrust belt of the Zagros mountains, formed by compression from the collision of the Iranian and Arabian plates that started 30 million years ago.The darker sediment deposits in the central valley have the distant appearance of alluvial fans, but are in fact glaciers of salt. The salt has risen from deep by the process of diapirism, where the less dense, ductile unit of salt rises through denser overlying rock. The diapirs commonly penetrate the surface through the anticlines of the Zagros mountains, feeding a constant supply of salt to the glaciers. The glaciers are dark due to clays that were entrained during the salt’s rise.The anticlines and salt diapirs provide many underground traps for migrating oil and gas, hence the large reserves of fossil fuels present in southern Iran.WAVReferences:http://bit.ly/21CuEwjhttp://bit.ly/1TZQwCDhttp://bit.ly/1o0ju7kImage Credit: NASA (http://bit.ly/1RtSAmg) -- source link
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