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Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses.
In geology, a basin is defined as a bounded area where the rock within the boundaries dips inward toward the center. By contrast, a range is a single line of mountains or hills forming a connected chain of land higher than the surrounding area. When combined, the two make up basin and range topography.
Basin and range topography is characterized by tilted fault blocks forming sub-parallel mountain ranges and intervening sediment-filled basins. These elements are typical of the basin and range physiographic topography in the western United States.
The province has a varied and remarkable topography consisting largely of numerous small, roughly parallel mountain ranges (trending north-south) separated by nearly flat desert plains, or basins. The basins are generally 4,000–5,000 feet (1,200–1,500 meters) above sea level , and the mountain ranges rise 3,000–5,000 feet above the level ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The topography consists of basins 10 to 30 kilometres wide and 50 to 200 kilometres long, separated by ranges of similar dimensions. The basins contain young sediment derived from the neighbouring ranges and are quite flat. The sides of the basins can be steep or gentle.
It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating between narrow faulted mountain chains and flat arid valleys or basins. The physiography of the province is the result of tectonic extension that began around 17 million years ago in the early Miocene epoch.
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Geology: The basin and range topography of the southern portion of the Southwest results in heavy erosion and accumulation of alluvial sediments. Caliche, a white mineral deposit primarily formed from calcium carbonate, forms desert hardpans in the valley floors.
