Massif
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In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term is also used to refer to a group of mountains formed by such a structure. The massif is a smaller structural unit of the crust than a tectonic plate.
The word is taken from French (in which the word also means "massive"), where it is used to refer to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. One of the most notable European examples of a massif is the Massif Central of the Auvergne region of France.
[edit] List of massifs
- Adrar des Ifoghas - Mali
- Aïr Massif - Niger
- Annapurna Massif - Nepal
- Armorican Massif - Brittany, France
- Atlantis Massif - part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Big Ben Massif - Heard Island
- Brasilia Massif - Argentina
- Chartreuse Massif - France
- Chu Pong Massif - Vietnam (overlooks site of Battle of Ia Drang)
- Cornubian Massif - United Kingdom
- Edziza Massif - British Columbia, Canada
- Kangchenjunga Massif - India
- Kondyor Massif - Russian Federation
- Kugitangtau Ridge - Turkmenistan
- Laurentian Massif - Quebec, Canada (French: Massif des Laurentides)
- Le Massif - a ski mountain northeast of Quebec City, Canada
- Lincoln Massif - Lincoln, Vermont
- Long Mynd - England, United Kingdom
- Massif Central - France
- Massif Montgris - Spain
- Massif Mountains - a high range of mountains in Haiti
- Mont Blanc Massif- Italy/France
- Meager Massif - British Columbia, Canada
- Logan Massif - Yukon, Canada
- Nun Kun- India
- Panchchuli Massif - India
- Tondou Massif - Africa
- Vinson Massif - Antarctica
- Vitosha Massif - Bulgaria
In mountaineering and climbing literature, a massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain.
The Face on Mars is also called a massif, or alternatively, an albedo feature.[1]
