The Unusual Surface Terrain on Uranus's Satellite Miranda Is Believed

question 358

Multiple Choice

The unusual surface terrain on Uranus's satellite Miranda is believed to have originated

• A) in tectonic plate motion.
• B) when an impactor struck the body and remained embedded.
• C) in a powerful internal explosion that occurred early in Miranda's history.
• D) when large blocks of ice and rock were lifted off the surface in an impact and then settled back.

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Definitions:

Thrust Fault

A type of geological fault where one block of the earth's crust is pushed up and over another, typically at a low angle, due to compressional forces.

Normal Fault

A normal fault is a type of fault where the hanging wall slides downward relative to the footwall due to tensional forces.

Sedimentary Layers

Strata or layers of rock that have been formed from sediment deposition over vast periods of time.

Block Diagram

A diagram that portrays in three dimensions the shape of the land surface and the subsurface distributions of rock units, folds, faults, and other geologic features.