Half Dome, part of the Sierra Nevada batholith, exposed
in Yosemite National Park.
Although the morphology of Half Dome was shaped by fairly recent glaciation,
most of the
high relief in the Sierras probably developed about 50-60 million years
ago by fluvial
downcutting (see House et al., 1998, Nature, v. 396, p.66). Photo by Martha
House.
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