domal uplift

views updated

domal uplift The upwarping of an area in the form of a dome. Domal uplifts are usually about 1 km high, and 102–103 km across, and are characterized by negative gravity anomalies and by alkaline volcanicity. Domal uplifts may also have a radiating system of rift valleys, and many are thought to be precursors of continental rifting, leading to the development of an ocean basin, and thus represent the first stage of the Wilson cycle.