Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Secular Mountains

2021 (approx.)

Detailed Description

Secular refers to long-term changes that take place slowly and imperceptibly. Commonly used to describe changes in elevation, tilt, and stress or strain rates that are related to long-term tectonic deformation. For example, a mountain that is growing is getting taller so slowly that we cannot see it happen, but if we were to measure the elevation one year and then the next, we could see that it has grown taller.

Sources/Usage