Final answer:
Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands is believed to have formed from a meteor impact, distinct from other geological formations such as those created through salt tectonics, mountain-building events like the Laramide Orogeny, or the largely undisturbed sedimentary layers of the Colorado Plateau.The correct answer is option D.
Step-by-step explanation:
Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands is now believed to be formed by a meteor impact.
This conclusion comes after considering other geological processes like salt tectonics, where structural features are caused by the movement of salt under geological stresses such as salt domes and diapirs.
However, these were not responsible for the formation of Upheaval Dome. Additionally, the dome was not a direct result of the Laramide Orogeny, which was a major mountain-building event that affected parts of North America and created features like monoclines through uplift and the reactivation of ancient faults.
Instead, Upheaval Dome's unique circular structure and the presence of shocked quartz in the area strongly support the impact hypothesis.
This is quite different from the structure of mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Nevada, which were formed primarily through tectonic forces, or from geological provinces, like the Colorado Plateau, which contains largely undeformed horizontal sedimentary layers.The correct answer is option D.