I can read, but I’m afraid this is way beyond my education & comprehension. The layers of rock along the Smoky Mountains are stunning and I have wondered how they were formed.
Thank you for posting.
“I can read, but I’m afraid this is way beyond my education & comprehension. The layers of rock along the Smoky Mountains are stunning and I have wondered how they were formed.”
The process that formed those mountains is still going on today.
The mississippi river sends sediment into the Gulf of Mexico. The sand settles out quickly and eventually gets buried deep enough that it forms sandstone. The finer slits and clay settle farther out and become siltstone and shale. (sedimentary process)
As time goes on they get buried deeper and deeper to the point heat and pressure change the sedimentary structures (layers) and new minerals are formed and separated out (metamorphism)
Then a couple of continents slam into each over a bazillion years and the whole mess gets uplifted, similar to sliding two floor rugs into each other.
After the two continents get tired of being married they separate. In the divorce North America kept most of the mountains (blue ridge) and Africa got screwed (Atlas Mountains).
The smokies used to rival the Himalayas. All we see now are the worn down stumps.
All this happens with several bazillion years, give or take a few.