page_title: Geology of North America
section_title: Intermontane Province
hierarchical_section_title: Geology of North America / North American Cordillera / Intermontane Province
caption_attribution_description: English: Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. Captioned As {}
context_page_description: The geology of North America is a subject of regional geology and covers the North American continent, third-largest in the world. Geologic units and processes are investigated on a large scale to reach a synthesized picture of the geological development of the continent.
  The divisions of regional geology are drawn in different ways, but are usually outlined by a common geologic history, geographic vicinity or political boundaries. The regional geology of North America usually encompasses the geographic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, the continental United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The parts of the North American Plate that are not occupied by North American countries are usually not discussed as part of the regional geology. The regions that are not geographically North American but reside on the North American Plate include parts of Siberia, and Iceland, and Bermuda. A discussion of North American geology can also include other continental plates including the Cocos and Juan de Fuca plates being subducted beneath western North America. A portion of the Pacific Plate underlies Baja California and part of California west of the San Andreas Fault.
context_section_description: Between the Rocky Mountains and the coast ranges is an area dominated by extensional forces. The extension of this region has occurred both regionally and locally in events beginning in the Jurassic; however, most extension was localized until the mid Miocene. These local events occurred in the Jurassic, late Cretaceous, and one spanning from the Eocene until the Oligocene. Regional extension occurred during the middle of the Miocene from around 20 million years ago until 10 million years ago.
  The Basin and Range Province is a series of linear block fault mountains with adjacent sediment-filled downfaulted valleys, having been caused by crustal extension around 17 million years ago. The valley floors are made up of thick sediment deposits which have eroded off the mountains and filled the valleys, so that the region is a regular series of ridges spaced out by flat sediment valleys.
caption: Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah.
exif: {}