Earth:Klippe

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Short description: Geological feature

thumb|right|350px|Schematic overview of a thrust system. The shaded material is called a [[nappe. The erosional hole is called a window or fenster. The klippe is the isolated block of the nappe overlying autochthonous material.]]

Beckov Castle, Slovakia, perched on a limestone klippe

A klippe (German for cliff or crag) is a geological feature of thrust fault terrains. The klippe is the remnant portion of a nappe after erosion has removed connecting portions of the nappe. This process results in an outlier of exotic, often nearly horizontally translated strata overlying autochthonous strata.[1]

Examples

  • Chief Mountain, Montana
  • Mount Yamnuska, Alberta
  • The Rock of Gibraltar
  • Acropolis of Athens, Greece

Klippes may also be found in the Pre-Alps of Switzerland and some of the isolated mountains in Assynt, Sutherland, in NW Scotland.[2]

References

  1. DiPietro, Joseph A. (December 21, 2012). Landscape Evolution in the United States: An Introduction to the Geography, Geology, and Natural History. Newnes. p. 343. ISBN 9780123978066. https://books.google.com/books?id=vZWWAA-USoUC&pg=PA343. Retrieved 10 February 2016. 
  2. Whittow, John (1984). Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 294. ISBN:0-14-051094-X.