Large-scale deformation of the Earth's crust, involving the folding, faulting, or uplift of rock layers, typically occurring over geological timescales.
From Greek 'dia-' (through) + 'strophe' (turning/twisting), literally 'a twisting through.' Coined in geology in the 19th century to describe crustal movements.
Diastrophe created the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas, and the ocean trenches—it's the slow-motion geologic drama that literally rewrites Earth's surface over millions of years!
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