The broad, gentle upward or downward warping of large regions of continental crust, without the intense folding and faulting that accompanies mountain-building orogeny, typically driven by deep processes such as mantle upwelling or downwelling, sediment or ice loading, or the isostatic response to erosion. Epeirogenic movement raises or lowers whole plateaus and basins over long geological periods and helps explain broad regional uplift, such as that of the Colorado Plateau, that cannot be attributed to a nearby collision zone.
Facts
Process Type Epeirogeny
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1. Epeirogeny (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
In geology, epeirogenic movement is upheavals or depressions of land exhibiting long wavelengths and little folding apart from broad undulations. The broad central parts of continents are called cratons, and are subject to epeirogeny.
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