Abstract
Orogenic collapse anchor spreading occurs when the upper portion of a crustal welt (mountain belt) extends in response to gravitational forces and changing conditions when the positive topographic feature can no longer support itself and spreads laterally. This is perhaps similar to the dynamics of an ice cap. A literature review establishes orogenic collaps/spreading as a common tectonic phenomenon. It is a useful addition to the plate-tectonic paradigm, along with escape tectonics and suspect and exotic terrane analysis, when teaching mountain-belt processes and histories to undergraduates and laypeople. Orogenic collapse or spreading can help explain 1) why local extension occurs coevally within zones of plate convergence, 2) how high-pressure rocks can find their way to the surface quickly given that the interplay between erosion and isostasy is an inadequate mechanism by itself, 3) why mountain belts attain the heights they do, and 4) why ocean basins tend to open along old suture zones (as in the Wi...
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