• journal_title：Geology
• Contributor：Niels Hovius ; Colin P. Stark ; Matthew A. Tutton ; Lon D. Abbott
• Publisher：Geological Society of America
• Date：1998-
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<1071:LDDNEI>2.3.CO;2
• journal_abbrev：Geology
• issn：0091-7613
• volume：26
• issue：12
• firstpage：1071

The emergence of an orogen is generally characterized by an early phase of rapid surface uplift and the concomitant evolution of montane topography, leading in some cases to a steady state in which tectonic mass flux is balanced by erosion. This early phase of mountain growth is exemplified in the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea, a propagating growth fold whose catchments can be observed at a range of stages in their temporal evolution. Watersheds appear to initiate by isolated gorge incision, to expand by large-scale landsliding in a manner controlled by ground-water seepage, and to entrench by fluvial incision of landslide scars and deposits. Once a montane system of ridges and valleys is established, only rare, major landslides can modify the drainage pattern. The steady-state morphology of a mountain belt is therefore intimately related to its initial phase of growth.