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Earth science

Making a mountain out of a plateau

Nature volume 542, pages 41–42 (2017)Cite this article

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A theory proposed in 2015 suggested that relatively flat surfaces in mountain ranges were formed by the reorganization of river networks. A fresh analysis rebuts this idea, reigniting discussion of a long-standing problem in Earth science.

The origin of low-gradient surfaces in mountain ranges has long generated debate. The conventional explanation involves the acceleration of river incision into a pre-existing and slowly eroding low-gradient landscape1, caused by a change in the underlying geological or climatic controls on the carving of mountain topography. However, a new model has been proposed2 that invokes the expansion and contraction of river networks during mountain building, and which does not require a change in the underlying controls. Writing in Geology, Whipple et al.3 challenge this model, particularly in its application to the mighty gorges of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers in southeastern Tibet. The authors defend the conventional idea that these rivers have incised into a relatively low-gradient landscape that is a remnant of a once larger Tibetan Plateau4.

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Figure 1: Characteristics of low-gradient mountain terrain depend on the formation mechanism.

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  1. Hugh Sinclair is at the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK.,

    Hugh Sinclair

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  1. Hugh Sinclair
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Correspondence to Hugh Sinclair.

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Sinclair, H. Making a mountain out of a plateau. Nature 542, 41–42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/542041a

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