30 reactions · 14 shares | The Basin and Range Province of the US is undergoing extension, especially in the west. This extension thins the crust and creates down dropped valleys (basins) flanked on either side by mountains (ranges). We can measure this extension using GPS instruments. Learn more here -https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/basin__range_gps_measures_extension | EarthScope Consortium | Facebook

In the Basin and Range Province, GPS measurements reveal prolonged extension—from infinitesimal motion in eastern Utah to rates of about 6.5 mm per year in western Nevada. Compared to the rapid ~45 mm per yr movement along the California coast, this may seem minor. However, the effects of this slow, steady stretching can be observed in the presence of nearly parallel mountain ranges and valleys in the landscape of Nevada and Utah. Precise GPS observations show that ongoing extension can be monit