The flow structure created in a viscous medium at a constant inclination angle of the free surface of the uplift slope is analyzed. The velocity field in a high-viscosity uplift slope is determined under conditions of a horizontal pressure gradient. This pressure gradient occurs when the slope height decreases with distance from the main ridge. With a constant dynamic viscosity of the uplift slope, the flow velocity in it decreases with distance from the axis of the main ridge. In this case, the uplift slope is in conditions of compressive stresses, the consequence of which are thrusts and compression folds. Tensile stresses in the uplift slope exist with an increase in the flow velocity in the layer with distance from the main ridge axis. The flow velocity increases with decreasing viscosity of the layer with distance from the main ridge. The viscosity distribution on the base of the uplift slope at a distance from the axis of the main ridge is determined using the tension condition in the uplift slope. Expressions are presented for the forces causing the formation of a disruption between the blocks of the uplift slope. The magnitudes of these forces are estimated. A relation representing the condition for the formation of a disruption between the blocks is obtained. The formation of disruptions is governed by the change in viscosity along the uplift slope and the change in the flow velocity in it. When the disruption between the uplift slope is formed, free vertical boundaries of the blocks appear. The motion of a highly viscous liquid during the formation of a free vertical boundary of the block has been studied experimentally when the liquid flows out from a rectangular vessel. The experiments have revealed two outflow regimes: (i) the regime of constant thickness of the liquid layer; (ii) the regime of decreasing layer thickness. On the basis of experimental modeling the time of the first period after the formation of the slope rupture and the formation of the free volume between the blocks is estimated. During this period the height of the layer (slope) is practically constant and the layer length increases. The process of filling the free volume between the blocks with a high-viscosity slope material is considered. As the modeling shows, the filling rate of the free volume between the diverging blocks of the uplift slope is much higher than the formation rate of the free volume between these blocks. The parameters of the uplift slope blocks are determined. Among these parameters are block viscosity, slope height, flow velocity and forces acting on the blocks. The time-varying structure of the surface of the uplift slope is presented. There is a qualitative correspondence between the modeling results and the profile of the uplift slope for the north-western Caucasus.
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