Rio Grande Rift
The Rio Grande rift is a north–south rift valley in the Basin and Range Province of western North America.
- Rifting began in Late Oligocene period.
- The Rio Grande rift begins in central Colorado and runs southward to end in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Due to the rollback of Farallon Plate, a temporal pattern of magmatism oldest in east and swept progressively westward
- Mantle upwelling providing heat and extension.
- Gravitational collapse due to crustal thickening of the subduction zone, with deformation occurring as far west as Death Valley, California.
- Collapse extension of the Basin and Range and the Rio Grande rift continues even today, although at a reduced rate compared to the Oligocene and the Miocene.
Read more about this topic: Potrillo Volcanic Field
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