A large, compact block of the Earth's crust, bounded by faults or flexures, that has been uplifted or tilted as a single coherent unit and now stands as a distinct mountainous mass, often forming a prominent section within a larger range. A massif's internal rock structure is typically more uniform than the sedimentary folding seen in a classic fold mountain belt.
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Source Massif (Wikipedia)
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Massif (Wikipedia)
Lead, second sentence
In mountaineering literature, massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain.
Part Of: Mountain Range, Lead, first sentence
is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits
Shaped By: Faulting, Lead section
As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures.
Associated With: Summit, Lead, first sentence
a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits
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