Mountain-building

摘要

Things in nature, animals, trees, mountains, etc., all have been built according to a plan - a Bauplan. Students of tectonics study mountains to reconstruct their Bauplan. What are the indispensable elements of a mountain? How are they arranged? How long does it take before a mountain is built? We have had some deep-seated prejudices on the time and place of orogenesis, and our misconceptions have hindered our understanding for more than a century. This article is a confession by a repentant student who was misled for the best part of his professional career. I think that I am on the right path now, but I may or may not have corrected all my mistaken notions.