Answer to Question 1
Answer: When new seafloor material forms, it is warm and has a lower density. As a result, the new, warm seafloor will sit higher on the mantle than old, cold seafloor. If a rift zone spreads quickly, that means there will be more low-density seafloor occupying the ocean basins. This displaces more seawater, causing shallow seas to transgress onto the continents.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: The western part of the continent was going through compression due to the Laramide Orogeny, uplifting the Rocky Mountains. After the subduction of the Farallon Plate ended (which had triggered this orogeny), the west went through extension, creating the Basin and Range Province. There were also the Tertiary Volcanic events at about the same time. The eastern part of the continent was fairly quiet, with erosion of the Appalachian Mountains and large-scale sediment deposition.
Platelets and the process of blood clot formation.
Model of the Reading Process
(a) In a healthy eye, aqueous humor is formed in the ciliary process and drains through the canal of ...
Static Stability & Environmental Lapse Rate
Upper-Level Maps
The Bergeron Process