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Science 27 October 1995:
Vol. 270. no. 5236, p. 557
DOI:

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What determines the relief of mountains? Locally it would seem that the intact strength of rocks allows weathering to produce steep cliffs. Schmidt and Montgomery (p. 617), however, propose that on the larger scale of mountains, topography is controlled by mountain-scale material strength and bedrock landsliding. Strength at these scales would reflect the strength of the weakest rock units. The authors compared the slope profiles in the Cascades and Santa Cruz mountains of the western United States with models of slope stability and experimental data on rock strength.

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