Rhône-Simplon line
Encyclopedia
The Rhone-Simplon line is a large geologic
fault
zone in the Swiss
Alps
.
The line runs from the Ossola valley
over the Simplon Pass
and then follows the Rhône valley
in an east-west direction. Somewhere south of Sion
it goes over smoothly into the Penninic thrustfront
.
Geologically speaking, the line serves as a huge dextral strike-slip fault
. The northeastern block (called the Lepontin dome
) is moving up as well. Geologists see the line as an expression of the continued NNW movement of the Apulian plate
into the European plate
.
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
fault
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
zone in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
The line runs from the Ossola valley
Ossola
The Ossola is an area of Italy situated to the north of Lago Maggiore. It lies within the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Its principal river is the Toce, and its most important town Domodossola....
over the Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
and then follows the Rhône valley
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
in an east-west direction. Somewhere south of Sion
Sion, Switzerland
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. it had a population of .Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which, because of its location in a valley, causes a reasonable amount of noise pollution. FC Sion...
it goes over smoothly into the Penninic thrustfront
Penninic thrustfront
The Penninic thrustfront is a major tectonic thrustfront in the French Alps. The thrustfront moves over a developing decollement horizon, and separates the high grade metamorphic rocks of the Penninic nappes from the sedimentary rocks and crystalline basement of the Helvetic nappes...
.
Geologically speaking, the line serves as a huge dextral strike-slip fault
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
. The northeastern block (called the Lepontin dome
Lepontin dome
The Lepontine dome or Lepontin dome is a region of tectonic uplift in the Swiss part of the Alps. It is located in the Lepontine Alps and Glarus Alps....
) is moving up as well. Geologists see the line as an expression of the continued NNW movement of the Apulian plate
Apulian Plate
The Adriatic or Apulian Plate is a small tectonic plate carrying primarily continental crust that broke away from the African plate along a large transform fault in the Cretaceous period. The name Adriatic Plate is usually used when referring to the northern part of the plate...
into the European plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
.