In what ways are the Sierra Nevada and the Andes similar? What ...

[rosent76]

In what ways are the Sierra Nevada and the Andes similar?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What is an accretionary wedge? Briefly describe its formation.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[gasdhashg]

Answer to Question 1

Both formed by Andean-type mountain building. They formed as continental volcanic arcs that eventually got thick enough to switch from volcanism to plutonism. The Andes are still forming today, of course, while the Sierra Nevada are the uplifted batholithic root of some ancient great volcanoes.

Answer to Question 2

An accretionary wedge is a chaotic accumulation of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with occasional scraps of ocean crust that is shoved up against the edge of a continent at a subduction zone. Sediment derived from the land and scraped from a subducting plate is plastered against the landward side of the trench like piles of dirt in front of a bulldozer.

[rosent76]

Thank you

[gasdhashg]

No problemo