Mountain uplift and the Neotectonic Period

Mountains result from uplift of former plains to make plateaus, which are dissected to various degrees. There are no 'fold mountains'. When folded rocks underlie mountains the folding pre-dates planation and uplift. The one exception is post-uplift gravity spreading of very large fault blocks. A compilation of times of uplift of mountains around the world is presented, and most show uplift in the last few million years, a time known as the Neotectonic Period. This is significant in many aspects of global tectonics, geomorphology and climate.