How can rising salt uplift the rock layers around a salt dome?

Rising salt uplifts surrounding rock layers through a process driven by gravitational and tectonic forces, which cause relatively plastic materials like salt to flow. Because salt is less dense than overlying consolidated sedimentary strata, it becomes gravitationally unstable when buried, leading it to migrate upward.1

The process typically follows this sequence:
* Initial Flow: Salt moves from an undeformed bed into a rounded salt pillow, which begins to dome the overlying strata.1
* Piercement: As the salt continues to flow, it eventually breaks through the center of the domed area, creating a plug-shaped mass that forces the surrounding rock layers upward.1
* Structural Deformation: The uplifted strata are often broken by faults that radiate from the salt core. As the salt pushes upward, the strata are spread apart and may dip into surrounding synclines, including a rim syncline that forms in the area where the salt originally flowed from.21

This upward growth often continues alongside the deposition of additional sediments, allowing the salt mass to maintain its position near the surface.1