Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Great Dividing Range and the European Alps:
1.The Great Dividing Range, also known as the Eastern Highlands of Australia, was formed primarily due to ancient continental rifting events.
2.The European Alps were geologically created as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided.
3.The extreme folding during the Alpine orogeny pushed deep crystalline mantle rocks upward, creating high peaks like Mont Blanc that are devoid of marine sedimentary rocks.
4.The Alpine region contains a hundred peaks that rise higher than 5,000 meters, known colloquially as the five-thousanders.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: B
Notes:
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct: The Great Dividing Range (Eastern Highlands of Australia) is an ancient complex system formed during the Paleozoic era, later uplifted and shaped significantly by the rifting and breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent.
- Statement 2 is correct: The Alps are classic fold mountains formed during the Cenozoic era due to the continuous northward collision of the African plate into the Eurasian plate.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: The intense compression and thrust-faulting of the Alpine orogeny actually lifted up ancient marine sedimentary rocks from the former Tethys Sea floor, folding them up to form the high peaks (including Mont Blanc). They are not devoid of sedimentary rocks.
- Statement 4 is incorrect: The Alpine region contains peaks higher than 4,000 m (not 5,000 m), which are globally recognized by mountaineers as the four-thousanders.
