©Copyright 2018 GEOSCIENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
11060 Campus Street • Loma Linda, California 92350 • 909-558-4548

Glarus Overthurst
Thrust fault contact between the Eocene flysch (below) and the Permian Verrucano (above) near Schwanden. The arrow points to the fine contact line.
Cervino (Matterhorn)
The snowy peak of the Cervino. The Alps are a majestic mountain chain that records a history of continental collision and mountain rising. Glaciers and rivers have sculpted many valleys and contributed to the beauty of this natural landscape. Photo taken from Blue Lake, Cervinia-Breuil, Aosta, Italy.
Collegiate Peaks
Rift Valley and part of Collegiate Peaks, Buena Vista --- The Rift Valley is formed by plate tectonic processes pulling the continent apart. Mt Princeton, seen in the right half of the picture, is formed from solidified granitic magma. The granite cooled, solidified, was uplifted and then overlying sediments were eroded off.
Mythen Klippen Overthrust
The Mythen is an isolated thrust outlier (Klippe) of Mesozoic rocks lying on top of Tertiary Eocene flysch, which in turn covers other Mesozoic formations. It is believed that the Mythen has been transported almost 150 km (90 miles) from the south.
Slope of Mount Pilatus
The steep sides of Mount Pilatus, south of Lucerne, are seen on the left. The rocks are mostly Cretaceous sediments.
Folded Sediments of Mount Pilatus
View to the west (left) near the top of Mount Pilatus, south of Lucerne. Note the very contorted layers. The mountain was overthrust about 50 km from the south (left of picture).
Col de la Croix
View to the east from Col de la Croix. Parts of four stacked nappes are visible from this point: Niesen, Bex, Diablerets and Wildhorn.
Gornergrat Panorama
Panorama from Gornergrat looking towards the west. The peak on the left is the Matterhorn; the next peak is Dent Blanche. Both peaks are part of the Dent Blanche Nappe. The peak on the far right is Weisshorn.
Valleys
An example of transverse and longitudinal valleys from the Bolivian Andes, Parque Nacional Carrasco, reflecting structural control on geomorphology.
Monocline
A monocline is a fold with a subhorizontal flank passing into a high angle flank. It is usually related to the activity of a tectonic lineament, like a thrust.
Garden Of Gods Red Lyons
UPLIFTED: Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs --- Layers of Lyons Formation sandstone were tilted vertically when the Rocky Mountains were uplifted.
SweetwaterRdBigFold
TECTONIC FOLDING: Large fold in gypsum layers, Sweetwater Canyon --- Folding is the result of enormous tectonic forces.
Rt40 WolfordMtnThrustFault
TECTONIC FAULTING: Thrust fault at Wolford Mountain east of Rt.40 north of Kremmling --- Trees take root in the older Precambrian rocks outcropping over the top half of the mountain, but do not grow in the younger Cretaceous Pierre shale outcropping over the lower half.