The elevation crater theory is a now-discredited geologic theory originating in the 18th and 19th centuries which intended to explain the
origin of mountains and
orogens, holding that mountains formed by vertical movements associated with
volcanism
Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...
.
[ Şengör (1982), p. 4]
The idea that mountains could be formed by magma and volcanic activity was expressed as early as 1777 by
Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussia, Prussian zoologist, botanist, Ethnography, ethnographer, Exploration, explorer, Geography, geographer, Geology, geologist, Natura ...
, who claimed the
Ural and
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...
had been formed this way. Pallas based his ideas on the granitic central axes that he had observed in both ranges.
The theory was revived and elaborated further by
Leopold von Buch
Christian Leopold von Buch (26 April 1774 – 4 March 1853), usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder (now a part of Angermünde, Brandenburg) and is remembered as one of the most im ...
in the 19th century.
Observations supporting this view were also given by
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...
in his book ''
Kosmos''.
[ Şengör (1982), p. 5]
Humbold and Buch considered
basaltic
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...
volcanism to be linked to elevation craters and
trachyte
Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...
to be the product of "true volcanoes".
Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich
Otto Wilhelm Hermann Abich (11 December 18061 July 1886) was a German mineralogist and geologist who was among the first to conduct scientific studies in the Caucasus region and has been called the ''Father of Caucasian Geology''. He worked brief ...
applied the theory to the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains
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* Azerbaijani: ,
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* is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...
and, following the views of Buch and Humboldt, linked
mountain building
Mountain formation occurs due to a variety of geological processes associated with large-scale movements of the Earth's crust (List of tectonic plates, tectonic plates). Fold (geology), Folding, Fault (geology), faulting, Volcano, volcanic acti ...
to volcanism, which led him to take interest in the volcanoes of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
in the area.
The geologist
Bernhard Studer
Bernhard Studer HFRSE (21 August 17942 May 1887), was a 19th-century Swiss geologist.
Biography
Studer was born at Buren an der Aare near Bern on 21 August 1794. He was the son of Samuel Emanuel Studer, a malacologist and pastor, and Maria Ma ...
refined the idea further. Working in the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
, he considered the mountains to be roughly symmetrical with a ''Mittelzone'' ('middle area') containing the
igneous rock
Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
The magma can be derived from partial ...
s that he believed had
uplifted them. The rocks were grouped in twelve ''Centralmassen''. To the north and the south of the ''Mittelzone'' were two equivalent marginal zones: ''Nörliche Nebenzone'' and ''Südliche Nebenzone''.
[ The theory, as posited by Studer, was popular among geologists in ]Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and nearby areas until the 1870s.[ Şengör (1982), p. 6]
References
Bibliography
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Obsolete geology theories
{{orogeny-stub