User:YCYBenjamin/sandbox backup

Sandbox for wikipedia assignment of Regional Geology

Evolution of Qinling Orogenic Belt
Qinling orogenic belt is a mountain belt located in the central of China, close to Shanxi province. The orogenic belt aligns approximately in an East-West orientation with a total length of ____ km high. The highest peak within the belt is located in _____ with ___km high. It is regarded as the division line of the North and South China, not only because of the central location, but its influence on climate which further modify natural habitat and human practices as well [perhaps need to cite].

The formation of Qinling started at around 800 million years ago, caused by the collision between North China plate and South China plate which is also associated with ancient oceans opening and closure. During that 800 million years, various types of rocks were formed due to different tectonic processes(will be mentioned below) and chemical reactions between rocks. Therefore, geologists are able to reconstruct the evolution of mountain belt based on these evidences.

Background information
The Qinling orogenic belt is a mountain belt formed 800 million years before. Orogenic belt (orogen) means a mountain that was formed when rocks and sediments are piled up due to the compressional force exerted by two colliding tectonic plates. The reason why two plates move toward each other and collide because they are more buoyant than magma underneath and the magma behaves as convergent convection current driven by heat.[cite tectonic theory] When two plates collide, in most of the cases, one of them (lower plate) subduct to the mantle. Sediments and rocks located on the top of the subducting plate (lower plate) will be pushed and piled up by another plate. Meanwhile, rocks belong to the upper plate are folded up. As two plates continue colliding, the rocks will be transformed into a mountain eventually, which is called orogen or orogenic belt. The whole process is regarded as orogeny.

Throughout the long history of the evolution of Qinling orogenic belt, there were several cycles of plate colliding and plate separating occurred due to magma current, as known as Wilson Cycle. The Qinling was formed because of the movement of North China Craton and South China Craton (Yangtze Block). Craton is a stable ancient tectonic block formed billion years ago. Generally, it can be called as plate and block as well. In this article, the evolution of Qinling is the main focus, while the location of plates will not be mentioned in detail.

The Qingling orogenic belt can be divided into two major regions: North Qinling Belt and South Qingling belt, which located at the boundary of North China Craton and South China Craton respectively.