Abstract
The topography of tectonically active mountain ranges reflects a poorly understood competition between bedrock uplift and erosion. Dating of abandoned river-cut surfaces in the northwestern Himalayas reveals that the Indus river incises through the bedrock at extremely high rates (2–12 mm yr-1). In the surrounding mountains, the average angles of hillslopes are steep and essentially independent of erosion rate, suggesting control by a common threshold process. In this rapidly deforming region, an equilibrium is maintained between bedrock uplift and river incision, with landsliding allowing hillslopes to adjust efficiently to rapid river down-cutting.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Molnar, P. & England, P. Nature 346, 29–34 (1990).
England, P. & Molnar, P. Geology 18, 1173–1177 (1990).
Misch, P. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von Hans Stille, 259–276 (Enke, Stuttagart, 1936).
Butler, R. W. H. & Prior, D. J. Nature 333, 247–250 (1988).
Seeber, L. & Gornitz, V. Tectonophysics 92, 335–367 (1983).
Zeitler, P. K., Johnson, N. M., Naeser, C. W. & Tahirkheli, R. A. K. Nature 298, 255–257 (1982).
Zeitler, P. K. Tectonics 4, 127–151 (1985).
Treloar, P. J. et al. Tectonics 8, 881–909 (1989).
Zeitler, P. K., Chamberlain, C. P. & Smith, H. Geology 21, 247–250 (1993).
Winslow, D. M., Zeitler, P. K., Chamberlain, C. P. & Hollister, L. S. Geology 22, 1075–1078 (1994).
George, M., Reddy, S. & Harris, N. Tectonics 14, 237–252 (1995).
Sorkhabi, R. B. Nucl. Tracks Radiat. Meas. 21, 535–542 (1993).
Nishiizumi, K. et al. J. geophys. Res. 94, 17907–17915 (1989).
Kohl, C. P. & Nishiizumi, K. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 56, 3583–3587 (1992).
Lal, D. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 104, 424–439 (1991).
Nishiizumi, K. et al. Earth Surf. Proc. Landforms 18, 407–425 (1993).
Naeser, N. D., Naeser, C. W. & McCulloh, T. H. in Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins: Methods and Case Studies (eds Naeser, N.D. & McCulloh, T.H.) 157–180 (Springer, New York, 1989).
Harrison, T. M. Nucl. Tracks 10, 329–333 (1985).
Naeser, C. W. Nucl. Tracks 5, 248–250 (1981).
Stüwe, K., White, L. & Brown, R. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 124, 63–74 (1994).
Seidl, M. A. & Dietrich, W. E. Catena Suppl. 23, 101–124 (1992).
Howard, A. D., Dietrich, W. E. & Seidl, M. A. J. geophys. Res. 99, 13971–13986 (1994).
Rosenbloom, N. A. & Anderson, R. S. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 14013–14029 (1994).
Cronin, V. S. in Tectonics of the Western Himalayas (eds Malineonico, L. L. Jr & Lillie, R. J.) 181–202 (Spec. Pap. 232, Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, Colorado, 1989).
Cronin, V. S. & Johnson, G. D. in Himalaya to the Sea Geology, Geomorphology and the Quaternary (ed. Schroder, J. F. Jr) 91–107 (Routledge, London, 1993).
Anderson, R. S., Dick, G. S. & Densmore, A. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Prog. 26, 238–239 (1994).
Sorkhabi, R. B. et al. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth planet. Sci) 103, 83–97 (1994).
Penck, W. Morphological Analysis of Landforms (Macmillan, London, 1953).
Hanks, T. C., Bucknam, R. C., LaJoie, K. R. & Wallace, R. E. J. geophys. Res. 89, 5771–5790 (1994).
Dietrich, W. E., Wilson, C. J., Montgomery, D. R. & McKean, J. J. Geol. 101, 161–180 (1993).
Fielding, E. J., Isacks, B. L., Barazangi, M. & Duncan, C. Geology 22, 163–167 (1994).
Carson, M. A. & Kirby, M. J. Hillslope Form and Process (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1972).
Shroder, J. F. Jr, Khan, M. S., Lawrence, R. D., Madin, I. P. & Higgins, S. M. in Tectonics of the Western Himalayas (eds Malinconico, L. L. Jr & Lillie, R. J.) 275–294 (Spec. Pap. 232, Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, Colorado, 1989).
Dietrich, W. E., Wilson, C. J., Montgomery, D. R., McKean, J. & Bauer, R. Geology 20, 675–679 (1992).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burbank, D., Leland, J., Fielding, E. et al. Bedrock incision, rock uplift and threshold hillslopes in the northwestern Himalayas. Nature 379, 505–510 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/379505a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/379505a0
This article is cited by
-
Fluvial geomorphic parameters of the Shuiluo River Catchment and their tectonic implications, SE Tibetan Plateau
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science (2024)
-
Interlinking erosion susceptibility, channel geometry and stream power: a case study of the Mayurakshi River, eastern India
Environment, Development and Sustainability (2024)
-
A Google Earth and ArcGIS-based protocol for channel width extraction
Journal of Earth System Science (2024)
-
Milankovitch-paced erosion in the southern Central Andes
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Medieval demise of a Himalayan giant summit induced by mega-landslide
Nature (2023)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.