The Himalayan mountains are known to be young fold mountains. This is because they were formed relatively recently in earth's history compared to other mountain ranges, in a series of parallel ridges or folds extending for 2500km.
The theory behind the formation of these mountains is to do with plate tectonics and Continental Drift. On these plates lie the continents and oceans of the earth. Over 250 million years ago the continents formed a single mass called Pangea. The plates are constantly moving position due to mantle convection, gravity and the earth's rotation. This caused the land mass to gradually break apart, and then eventually collide with each other again. The Indian and Eurasian plates were squeezed together, building up pressure and stress, causing the crust to bend, fold or crumple. This created the Himalayas as the plates pushed up the rock between them. It take millions of years for mountains to be formed, and to this day the Himalayas are still rising but at a slower rate of about 5mm per year
The theory behind the formation of these mountains is to do with plate tectonics and Continental Drift. On these plates lie the continents and oceans of the earth. Over 250 million years ago the continents formed a single mass called Pangea. The plates are constantly moving position due to mantle convection, gravity and the earth's rotation. This caused the land mass to gradually break apart, and then eventually collide with each other again. The Indian and Eurasian plates were squeezed together, building up pressure and stress, causing the crust to bend, fold or crumple. This created the Himalayas as the plates pushed up the rock between them. It take millions of years for mountains to be formed, and to this day the Himalayas are still rising but at a slower rate of about 5mm per year
The Himalayas
Pangaea
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