Rio Grande Rift

E62508
continental rift geologic province tectonic feature

The Rio Grande Rift is a major north–south trending continental rift zone in the southwestern United States that marks where the Earth's crust is being pulled apart, forming a series of basins and uplifted ranges.

Aliases (2)
Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf continental rift →
geologic province →
tectonic feature →
activityStatus tectonically active →
associatedWith Rio Grande River →
basin-and-range topography →
normal faulting →
volcanism →
boundedBy uplifted ranges →
contains Albuquerque Basin →
Espanola Basin →
Jemez volcanic field →
San Luis Basin →
Santa Fe Group sediments →
Socorro Basin →
Socorro Magma Body →
Taos Plateau volcanic field →
Tularosa Basin →
series of basins →
country United States →
economicImportance geothermal resources →
groundwater aquifers →
extendsInto Northern Mexico →
extendsThrough Colorado →
New Mexico →
Texas →
formsBoundaryBetween Colorado Plateau →
Great Plains →
geologicAge Cenozoic →
governedBy normal faults →
hasMaximumBasinThickness several kilometers of sediment →
hasTopography alternating basins and ranges →
influences Rio Grande River course →
regional drainage patterns →
length approximately 1000 kilometers →
linkedTo Basin and Range Province →
Southern Rocky Mountains →
locatedIn Southwestern United States →
maximumCrustalExtension tens of kilometers →
namedAfter Rio Grande →
orientation north–south →
process crustal extension →
lithospheric thinning →
riftInitiation Miocene →
late Oligocene →
seismicity moderate →
studiedFor continental rifting processes →
lithospheric dynamics →
tectonicSetting intraplate rift →
Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Jemez Mountains region →
adjacentTo
Colorado Plateau →
borderedBy
Basin and Range Province →
contains
Dona Ana County, New Mexico ("Rio Grande rift") →
locatedInPhysiographicRegion
Sandia Mountains ("Rio Grande rift") →
orogeny
Socorro Mountains ("Rio Grande Rift region") →
partOf
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