How were Mountains Formed?

Did the Earth always look as it does today?

No, since its origin about 4.8 billion years ago, our planet has undergone a lot of changes. The initial ball of fire cooled down and the surface slowly turned solid. Today, we know that the Earth's crust is divided into several plates, which move continuously. Entire continents have been displaced and mountains, islands, and new seas have been formed or have disappeared. Even the flora and the fauna have evloved over time. Many species have become extinct and new ones have been discovered. This development of the Earth over billions of years is known as the history of the Earth.

How were mountains formed?

Mountains are in two ways when the tectonic formed they collide against each plates move other When the heavy oceanic part of the plate collides with the continental part it submerges below it. The Andes, for instance. were formed in this way. The other way when two continents collide with each other the plates bend at the point of contact and fold up steeply The Himalayas at the Aps were formed in this way around 35 million years ago and are counted among the young mountains of the world. Cold mountains such as Black Forest or the Harz mountains are lower ranges because peaks have been worn down by rain, ice, and wind over time.

Who discovered the continental drift?

This discovery is credited to the German geologist Alfred Wegener. He not only discovered that the coastline of He also America fits wen well against that of Africa but also showed that the fossils in both the coastal regions are similar proposed another idea about 300 million years ago there must have been a single. continuous landmass that a from broke up gave rise to several parts-the tectonic plates. The continents on these plates drifted way and one another and then rejoined the way they are today. Thus, landmasses were displaced, and their position  is changing, even today. The tectonic plates are still moving at a speed of around 6 cm per year.

How many plates does the Earth's crust have?

The relatively solid Earth's crust-and a part of the layer that lies below it-is divided into seven large and more than ten smaller plates. These plates float over the hot, vis layer, which is constantly in motion-like boiling soup. These flushes of heat in the Earth's interior are known as "convection cells At places where the convection currents push the rocks upwards, the crust often breaks and gives rise to a new crust. For example, the mid-ocean ridges in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans