Inverted topography

Inverted topography

Inverted topography or topographic inversion refers to landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features. It most often occurs when low areas of a landscape become filled with lava or sediment that hardens into material that is more resistant to erosion than the material that surrounds it. "Differential erosion" then removes the less resistant surrounding material, leaving behind the younger resistant material which may then appear as a ridge where previously there was a valley. Terms such as "inverted valley" or "inverted channel" are used to describe such features. Plateaus, mesas and buttes may also be formed as inverted features. Examples of inverted topography have been discovered on Mars.

One of the most famous examples is Meteor Crater in Arizona Fact|please give a reliable source for this assertion. Is this a feature that has changed elevation, such as a channel that became a ridge; or is it an example of rock strata that have changed position due to kinetic impact?| () 22:52, 19 September 2008 (UTC)|date=September 2008 where the oldest strata is on top of the crater and the youngest strata is at the bottom. [ [http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/Enviropages/Barringer/geologypage/geologypage.html Basic Stratigraphy of Barringer Meteor Crater arizona.edu - Retrieved September 18, 2008] ] Specifically going from the top of the crater down:

*Coconino Sandstone (sandstone formed 265 million years ago)
*Toroweap Formation (limestone formed 255 million years ago)
*Kaibab Formation (dolomite formed 250 million years ago)
*Moenkopi Formation (mudstone formed 200 million years ago)

References

External links

* [http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/ingridb/Geology/tectonic_landscapes.htm Nipissing University: Tectonics and Landscapes Lecture Outline]
* [http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=5648 MarsToday.com: Inverted Topography of Huo Hsing Vallis]
* [http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=21125 MarsToday.com: NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Inverted channels]


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