Misplaced Pages

Structural basin

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Tectonic depression) Large-scale structural geological depression formed by tectonic warping For artificial basins to trap sediment, see Sediment basin.
Geologic provinces of the world (USGS)
  Shield   Platform   Orogen   Basin   Large igneous province   Extended crust Oceanic crust:  0–20 Ma   20–65 Ma   >65 Ma
Wilpena Pound structural basin in South Australia

A structural basin is a large-scale structural formation of rock strata formed by tectonic warping (folding) of previously flat-lying strata into a syncline fold. They are geological depressions, the inverse of domes. Elongated structural basins are a type of geological trough. Some structural basins are sedimentary basins, aggregations of sediment that filled up a depression or accumulated in an area; others were formed by tectonic events long after the sedimentary layers were deposited.

Basins may appear on a geologic map as roughly circular or elliptical, with concentric layers. Because the strata dip toward the center, the exposed strata in a basin are progressively younger from the outside in, with the youngest rocks in the center. Basins are often large in areal extent, often hundreds of kilometers across.

Structural basins are often important sources of coal, petroleum, and groundwater.

Examples

Europe

North America

Canada

Trinidad and Tobago

United States

Oceania

Australia

Wilpena Pound structural basin

South America

See also

References

  • Monroe, James S., and Reed Wicander. The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 0-314-09577-2
Structural geology
Underlying theory
Measurement conventions
Large-scale tectonics
Fracturing
Faulting
Foliation and lineation
Folding
Boudinage
Kinematic analysis
Shear zone
Categories: