uplift
**Definition:** The slow, large-scale rising of a portion of the earth's crust — driven by tectonic compression, magma intrusion, or the removal of weight (such as the melting of an ice sheet). Uplift is the force that builds mountains, raises coastlines above the sea, and exposes marine fossils on mountaintops. It operates on timescales that make it invisible to any single human life, but its evidence is everywhere: tilted sedimentary layers, raised beaches, river terraces perched high above the current channel. The Himalayas are still rising. Scandinavia is still rebounding from the weight of ice that melted 10,000 years ago.
The slow, large-scale rising of a portion of the earth's crust — driven by tectonic compression, magma intrusion, or the removal of weight (such as the melting of an ice sheet). Uplift is the force that builds mountains, raises coastlines above the sea, and exposes marine fossils on mountaintops. It operates on timescales that make it invisible to any single human life, but its evidence is everywhere: tilted sedimentary layers, raised beaches, river terraces perched high above the current channel. The Himalayas are still rising. Scandinavia is still rebounding from the weight of ice that melted 10,000 years ago.
Etymology
English compound — lifted up. The geological sense dates to the 19th century.
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