The Cenozoic Colorado Plateau physiographic province overlies multiple Precambrian provinces. Its ∼2-km elevation rim surrounds an ∼1.6-km elevation core that is underlain by thicker crust and lithospheric mantle, with a sharp structural transition ∼100 km concentrically inboard of the physiographic boundary on all but its northeastern margin. The region was uplifted in three episodes: ∼70–50 Ma uplift above sea level driven by flat-slab subduction; ∼38–23 Ma uplift associated with voluminous regional magmatism and slab removal, and less than 20 Ma uplift associated with inboard propagation of basaltic magmatism that tracked convective erosion of the lithospheric core. Neogene uplift helped integrate the Colorado River from the Rockies at 11 Ma to the Gulf of California by ∼5 Ma. The sharp rim-to-core transition defined by geological and geophysical data sets suggests a young transient plateau that is uplifting as it shrinks to merge with surrounding regions of postorogenic extension. ▪ The Colorado Plateau's iconic landscapes were shaped during its 70-million-year, still-enigmatic, tectonic evolution characterized by uplift and erosion. ▪ Uplift of the Colorado Plateau from sea level took place in three episodes, the youngest of which has been ongoing for the past 20 million years. ▪ Tectonism across the Colorado Plateau's nearest plate margin (the base of the plate!) is driving uplift and volcanism and enhancing its rugged landscapes. ▪ The bowl-shaped Colorado Plateau province is defined by ongoing uplift and an inboard sweep of magmatism around its margins. ▪ The keel of the Colorado Plateau is being thinned as the North American plate moves southwest through the underlying asthenosphere.

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科罗拉多高原及其边缘的构造


新生代科罗拉多高原地貌省覆盖多个前寒武纪省。其约 2 公里高程边缘围绕约 1.6 公里高程核心，其下方是较厚的地壳和岩石圈地幔，除了东北边缘外，在地貌边界内侧约 100 公里处有一个急剧的结构过渡。该地区的隆升分三期：由平板俯冲驱动的海拔约 70-50 Ma 隆起； ～38-23 Ma 的隆起与大量区域岩浆作用和板片去除有关，小于 20 Ma 的隆起与玄武岩岩浆向内传播相关，该岩浆跟踪岩石圈核心的对流侵蚀。新近纪隆起帮助科罗拉多河从 11 Ma 的落基山脉到约 5 Ma 的加利福尼亚湾。由地质和地球物理数据集定义的边缘到核心的急剧转变表明，有一个年轻的瞬态高原，随着它收缩与周围的造山后伸展区域合并，它正在上升。 ▪ 科罗拉多高原的标志性景观是在 7000 万年的、至今仍然神秘的以隆升和侵蚀为特征的构造演化过程中形成的。 ▪ 科罗拉多高原从海平面上升发生了三期，其中最年轻的一次在过去2000 万年里一直持续。 ▪ 科罗拉多高原最近的板块边缘（板块底部！）的构造运动正在推动隆起和火山活动，并增强其崎岖的地貌。 ▪ 科罗拉多高原省呈碗状，其特点是持续的隆升和其边缘的岩浆作用向内移动。 ▪ 随着北美板块向西南移动穿过下面的软流圈，科罗拉多高原的龙骨正在变薄。