An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations .
6-607: The Magnesian escarpment is the most westerly of three prominent escarpments that run north-south in Wisconsin . All three escarpments are formed by the edges of layers of sedimentary rocks. The easternmost and most prominent escarpment is the Niagara Escarpment formed where younger and harder layers of dolomite overlay softer sedimentary rocks. The Black River Escarpment is capped by another layer of relatively harder rocks, overlay older softer rocks. The rocks of
12-460: A fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other, a fault scarp is created. This can occur in dip-slip faults , or when a strike-slip fault brings a piece of high ground adjacent to an area of lower ground. Earth is not the only planet where escarpments occur. They are believed to occur on other planets when the crust contracts , as a result of cooling. On other Solar System bodies such as Mercury , Mars , and
18-577: The Moon , the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment. When sedimentary beds are tilted and exposed to the surface, erosion and weathering may occur. Escarpments erode gradually and over geological time . The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between a multitude of rock types. These different rock types weather at different speeds, according to Goldich dissolution series so different stages of deformation can often be seen in
24-597: The Magnesian layer overlay rocks of the Cambrian Period, the oldest sedimentary rocks that contain fossils. 43°16′30″N 89°29′05″W / 43.27500°N 89.48472°W / 43.27500; -89.48472 This article about a location in the state of Wisconsin is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Escarpment The terms scarp and scarp face are often used interchangeably with escarpment . Some sources differentiate
30-472: The base of the plateau . Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks , or by movement of the Earth's crust at a geologic fault . The first process is the more common type: the escarpment is a transition from one series of sedimentary rocks to another series of a different age and composition. Escarpments are also frequently formed by faults. When
36-439: The two terms, with escarpment referring to the margin between two landforms , and scarp referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term scarp also describes a zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at
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