In this paper, we discuss and critique existing hypotheses about the geology of Middle-earth in light of current geological theories of planetary formation, mountain building (orogeny) and plate tectonics. We dispute the prevailing tectonic explanation for the major geological features of Middle-earth and Arda on the basis of evidence as yet not fully considered about the formation of the plane...

Introduction. The once popular idea that changes in planetary volume play an important role in terrestrial orogeny and tectonics [ I ,2] was generally discarded with the acceptance of plate tectonics. It is nonetheless likely that the Earth has been steadily cooling over the last 3-4 billion years [e.g., 3,4], and the global contraction that accompanied such cooling would have led to a secular ...

EDITORIAL article Front. Earth Sci., 06 January 2023Sec. Structural Geology and Tectonics Volume 10 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.1049535