Archive - Landscape Boundary: The Mogollon Rim

January 12, 2020

MogollonRim2

Each Sunday we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD was originally published January 14, 2014.

Photographer
: Thomas McGuire
Summary Author: Thomas McGuire

Landscape regions are areas in which landforms are related by the general characteristics of the terrain, or by the geological processes that formed it. For example, the Colorado Plateau is dominated by flat-lying sedimentary rocks that have been pushed up by tectonic forces and incised by river erosion. The best example is the Grand Canyon. In general, the Colorado Plateau has less relief than the mountain landscapes that surround it.

Some landscape boundaries are gradual and hard to locate precisely. The western boundary of the Appalachians and the southern boundary of the Interior Lowlands are uncertain boundaries. Others are remarkably sharp. The Colorado Plateau ends abruptly at the Mogollon (MOH-gee-on) Rim (above) in central Arizona. This is the dramatic southern boundary of the Colorado Plateau. Here the sedimentary layers of the plateau give way to a mountainous landscape that leads down to the Basin and Range province.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon PowerShot SX50 HS; Focal Length: 23.8mm; Aperture: f/5.0; Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320); ISO equiv: 80.

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