THE EXPLAINER THE EXPLAINER: WHY ARE MOUNTAINS SO FORMIDABLE?
Jun 30, 2021
3 minutes
by ALEX FRANKLINCHEUNG
HOW DO MOUNTAINS FORM?
Most mountains owe their existence to the movement of tectonic plates, vast sections of the Earth’s crust. Where two tectonic plates converge, they buckle and fold, resulting in the most common type: fold mountains. The Himalayas, for example, result from the Asian and Indian plates slowly colliding. Block mountains are created when the pressures between plates allow cracks (faults) to appear, with huge slabs of rock being thrust upwards.
Volcanic activity can also
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