Fold mountain Notes

• Fold Mountains are landforms created by folding.
• Folding of the earth's crust occurs when rocks are compressed or squeezed at destructive boundaries.
• At destructive boundaries the plates collide and the land above is pushed upwards and folded to form fold mountains.
• At these boundaries the plates collide and the land above is pushed upwards and folded to form fold mountains. This process is called orogeny
• Folding has affected the landscape of Munster to create the Munster Ridge and Valley Region.
• Munster was covered by old red sandstone about 400 million years ago.
• Later that the red sandstone in Munster was covered by limestone.
• About 300 million years ago, these rocks were compressed during the Armorican Fold Mountain building period.
• About 300 million years ago, these rocks were compressed during the Armorican Fold Mountain building period. It resulted from the collision of the African and Eurasian plates.
• There was a collision of the African and Eurasian plates and as a result Fold Mountains were formed all over Munster.
• Mountains such as The Comeraghs, MacGillicuddy Reeks and Galtees were formed during the Armorican Fold Mountain building period
• Mountains such as The Comeraghs, MacGillicuddy Reeks and Galtees have an east-west trend.
• Each fold has an upfold called an Anticline and a downfold called a Syncline.
• The limestone was easily eroded from the anticlines(upfolds) to expose the underlying sandstone.
• The anticlines are seen today as sandstone mountain ridges while limestone is preserved in the downfolds(synclines) creating valleys such as the Blackwater Valley.
• • Some of the world's tallest mountains are formed as a result of folding, including the Himalayas which formed 35 million years ago as part of the Alpine Fold movements.