horst

horst (n.)

1. a raised area of land that lies between two faults.
2. a ridge of the earth's crust between two faults that has been forced upward.

The term horst is a German word meaning "Eyrie", or, The nest of a bird of prey or other large bird that builds in a lofty place; aerie.¹ A horst is the geological opposite of a graben, which lies between horsts. Alternating horsts and grabens are part of a basin and range system.

Schematic of a horst:

                   _________
                  /         \
                 /    /|\    \
________________/      |      \_________________
|              /       |       \               |
|             /        |        \              |
|            /         |         \             |
|           /          |          \            |
|          /                       \           |
|_________/_________________________\__________|

 

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(1) Webby: Eyrie