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A new look at rifts
Author(s) -
FROSTICK LYNNE,
REID IAN
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
geology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1365-2451
pISSN - 0266-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2451.1987.tb00508.x
Subject(s) - geology , rift , paleontology , sedimentary rock , crust , earth science , geomorphology , tectonics
Rift valleys have always enthralled geologists. They are the rents in the Earth's crust produced when continental plates pull apart. Besides telling us something about the evolution of our planet, they also act as topographic sumps in which parts of the sedimentary record of Earth history are often best preserved. Yet our understanding of how, where, and why rifts form has only recently come of age with new models of structure and sedimentation.