The Engadin: The
Swiss Alps Geology
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100 million years ago, the African tectonic plate began to
move to towards the more stable European and Asian plate and under that massive
pressure the bottom of the Tethyan Sea began to rise to form mountains, which
we know as the Swiss Alps (The Geography, 2017). The looks of the mountains
where shaped on a smaller scale by glacial periods and glaciers in the area,
which is shown in U-shaped valleys such as in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (The
Geography, 2017). The Engadin specifically lakes such as Lake Sils, the largest
natural lake in Switzerland above 1000 meters, which is overlooked by multiple
mountains above 3000 meters (Physical Geography). The Engadin has almost
continental climate, with less precipitation and lower temperatures compared to
the west of the Swiss Alps (Ambuehler, 2016).
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=lBDKh64k&id=8E40E3EECB346FB0012AD3FC475175ADECA2C0E3&thid=OIP.lBDKh64kBTdtIwl3A2QiFgEsDH&q=bernina+glacier+melting&simid=608015126847295263&selectedIndex=5&ajaxhist=0
The Engadin: 10,000 Years
from Now
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10,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps will be still growing,
since they are a relatively young mountain range overall, recognizable, by its
high and sharp tops (The Geography, 2017). Even though by then, they will
already have been subject to erosion, starting to round out, making famous
peaks such as the Matterhorn appear rounder and flatter. Considering the
climate change the world is facing, the Swiss Alps will experience hot summers
and little to no snow coverage in the winter, based on current the hypothesis
of the temperature increasing by 0.25 degree Celsius every decade in the first
half of the 21st century alone and then and even higher increase per
decade (Gobiet, Kotlarski, Beniston, Heinrich, Rajczak, Stoffel).
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=KTPqJgBG&id=94FEB018CF719A49B338B45F7701715A80371A68&thid=OIP.KTPqJgBGTY-OPfKcwuWinwF1Cn&q=Switzerland+Climate&simid=608015844108011025&selectedindex=53&mode=overlay&first=1
The Engadin: 1,000,000
Years from Now
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1,000,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps possibly just have gone
through another Ice Age, which as suggested by many scientists, is delayed
through CO2 emission, but on its way (Climate change, 2016). Scientific research
indicates, that we will experience another Ice Age in around 100,000 years.
This would mean that, as we learned in the lectures, more glacial valleys would
have been formed due to glaciers expanding over the mountains and are now
exposed after the Ice Age ending and on top of that would come the ongoing
erosion of the mountain tops making them rounder.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=yB7VZe%2fY&id=CFFC6F1354794991B631A1DB893C0A8275A47028&thid=OIP.yB7VZe_YA8-UATJDm13ZJAEsEs&q=switzerland+during+last+ice+age&simid=608014353768647963&selectedIndex=10&ajaxhist=0
The Engadin: 10,000,000
Years from Now
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=7kmSGgZe&id=E8CAB81FA555032C86123F063021ECA8A3AD91AB&thid=OIP.7kmSGgZeNubMmTok8x4VvAEsCo&q=sierra+nevada+mountain+range&simid=608006601337603799&selectedindex=174&mode=overlay&first=1
Lastly, 10,000,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps will have
its sharp mountain tops carved down to soft, round tops (The Geography, 2017).
This means that by this time around, the Swiss Alps are on the way to being
eroded down, and it’s now over 3000 meter high mountain tops will shrink down a
sizeable number of meters, caused by erosion of weathering, but also from the
glacial coverage during the before coming Ice Age. An example of what it might
look like the Sierra Nevada mountains look today, considering that they are
about 150,000,000 years old, so 50 million more than the Swiss Alps, and
assuming that the upcoming Ice Age and global warming will speed up the
erosion.
Conclusion
Overall, the Swiss Alps, known for its sharp peaks and
U-shaped valleys, can predictably go through another Ice Age, which many
scientists are suspecting in the future, which will lead to an increase in
weathering and erosion through glacier building and retreating across the
mountains. This will cause an increase in valleys in the area and a rounding of
the sharp mountain tips to softer tops. The climate also will change
drastically, to first a hotter climate to an Ice Age and then lastly to a more
moderate climate.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=dV1VD%2fZx&id=071E3373364F16B18751E32C5329D5BF3AABBB70&thid=OIP.dV1VD_ZxmpNoZMgRzuPzKQEsDh&q=oldest+mountain+range&simid=608052072163576663&selectedIndex=8&ajaxhist=0
References
Ambuehler, R. (2016,
April 24). Climate. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.about.ch/geography/index.html
Climate change
could delay next ice age by 100,000 years. (2016, January 15). Kirriemuir
Herald [Forfar, Scotland]. Retrieved from http://0-go.galegroup.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/ps/i.do?p=STND&sw=w&u=auraria_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA440042599&sid=summon&asid=91f0b7cb4a8351d0d83f7418a050f32d
Gobiet, A., Kotlarski, S.,
Beniston, M., Heinrich, G., Rajczak, J., & Stoffel, M. (n.d.). 21st century
climate change in the European Alps—A review ☆.
Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969713008188
Physical Geography -
Simply Swiss. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from https://sites.google.com/a/middleschoolkcd.org/switzerland-europe-project/physical-geography
The geography of
Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. (2017, April 30). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.myswissalps.com/aboutswitzerland/nature/geography
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