- Syncline
In
structural geology , a syncline is a downward-curving fold, with layers that dip toward the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. [Synclinorium. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 03, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578375/synclinorium]On a geologic map, synclines are recognized by a sequence of rock layers that grow progressively younger, followed by the youngest layer at the fold's center or "hinge", and by a reverse sequence of the same rock layers on the opposite side of the hinge. If the fold pattern is circular or elongate circular the structure is a basin. A notable syncline is Wyoming's
Powder River Basin . Folds typically form during crustal deformation as the result of compression that accompanies orogenic mountain building.A spectacular example of a perched syncline, the highest in Europe, is Saou, in the Alpine foothills of south-eastern France.
Gallery
ee also
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Anticline
*Homocline
*Ridge-and-valley Appalachians — With good bird's eye photo of a range of the typesReferences
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