MAjor LANDFORMS:
AUstralian Alps
· They stretch from Brindabella Range North of Canberra to the Baw Baw Range, east of Melbourne.
· All mountains in the Australian Alps are over 2000 meters high, including Mt Kosciusko (2228 m)
The formation of the Australian Alps:
· 800-400 million years ago (area was under sea) sediments were deposited and compressed to form sedimentary rock
· 600 million years ago, volcanic activity produced explosions, basalt lava flows and granite intrusions. (these form igneous rock)
· 100 million years ago, folding and faulting associated with uplift caused by earth movements contorted and metamorphosed the rocks
· The softer sedimentary rocks are eroded more easily leaving the harder igneous and metamorphic as the higher ground
· All mountains in the Australian Alps are over 2000 meters high, including Mt Kosciusko (2228 m)
The formation of the Australian Alps:
· 800-400 million years ago (area was under sea) sediments were deposited and compressed to form sedimentary rock
· 600 million years ago, volcanic activity produced explosions, basalt lava flows and granite intrusions. (these form igneous rock)
· 100 million years ago, folding and faulting associated with uplift caused by earth movements contorted and metamorphosed the rocks
· The softer sedimentary rocks are eroded more easily leaving the harder igneous and metamorphic as the higher ground