foreland basin
Mountain-front sediment trough
A foreland basin is a sedimentary depression that forms in front of a mountain belt, created when the weight of thrust sheets and mountain-building forces causes the Earth's crust to flex downward.
These basins fill with sediment eroded from the adjacent rising mountains.
The Persian Gulf and the Po Valley are classic examples.
Oil exploration often targets foreland basins because of their thick sedimentary sequences.
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- thrustForceful forward motion
- mountainTall natural landmass
- mountain buildingGeological uplift process
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
wedge · tectonic · compression · deposit · lithosphere · flexure · strata · continental · erosion · uplift · Appalachian · deep burial · petroleum · oil and gas · sandstone · shale · accretion · plate
- petroleum geologypetroleum, crude oil, hydrocarbon, oil field, source rock
- orogenyorogeny, mountain building, uplift, folding, faulting
- landformsmountain, cliff, valley, volcano, mountain ridge
- mountain rangesAlps, Andes, Himalayas, Rockies, Pyrenees