Editing Basin and Range Province (section)

===Metamorphic core complexes===
In some localities in the Basin and Range, metamorphic basement is visible at the surface. Some of these are [[metamorphic core complex]]es (MCC), an idea that was first developed based on studies in this province. A metamorphic core complex occurs when lower crust is brought to the surface as a result of extension. MCCs in the Basin and Range were not interpreted as being related to crustal extension until after the 1960s. Since then, similar deformational patterns have been identified in MCCs in the Basin and Range and has led geologists to examine them as a group of related geologic features formed by crustal extension during the [[Cenozoic]] era (66.0 million years ago to present). The study of metamorphic core complexes has provided valuable insight into the extensional processes driving Basin and Range formation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rystrom|first=VL|url=http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/Resources/WUSTectonics/CoreComplex/5700.html|title=Metamorphic Core Complexes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103161632/http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/Resources/WUSTectonics/CoreComplex/5700.html |archive-date=2010-11-03|year=2000|access-date=5 Dec 2010}}</ref>