Question

As discussed in class, we have two claims we are deciding between... 1. The Rocky Mountains formed FROM the Great Plains, or 2. The Great Plains formed FROM the Rocky Mountains. Use your knowledge about uplift and subduction to pick a claim, give evidence, and explain your reasoning. Assignment Requirements: 10 points 5 pts: Use CER model (Claim, evidence, reasoning) Claim- A statement that answers the original question or problem Evidence- Data, facts, or observations from an investigation that support the claim Reasoning- connects the evidence back to the claim 5 pts: Include vocab words: Plate motion, uplift or subduction, energy, sedimentary, igneous 5 Sentence minimum Switch account Not shared Draft saved * Indicates required question first name * last name *How the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains Form in only one paragraph

Answer 1

Claim: The Great Plains formed FROM the Rocky Mountains. Evidence: During the Laramide Orogeny, shallow-angle subduction of the Farallon Plate and continued plate motion delivered the energy that caused uplift of the Rocky Mountains and produced igneous intrusions and metamorphism in the range; subsequent erosion of those uplifted rocks produced vast quantities of sediment that accumulated as thick sedimentary layers east of the mountains, with alluvial deposits and river-borne material grading away from the Rockies across the Plains. Reasoning: The energy from subduction and plate motion raised the Rockies (uplift), exposing igneous and other rocks to weathering; gravity and rivers then carried that eroded material onto lower-lying areas where it was deposited as sedimentary strata, so the Plains are largely built from Rocky Mountain-derived sediments rather than the mountains being built from the flat-lying Plains.