When you look at a map of India, you see the majestic, snow-capped Himalayas standing like a massive wall protecting the northern border. They include Mount Everest, the highest peak in the entire world.
But these massive mountains were not always there. Millions of years ago, the exact location where the Himalayas stand today was actually a deep, massive ocean called the Tethys Sea. The Himalayas were formed by a violent, slow-motion crash between two massive continents.
The Crash: Formed by the massive collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
Classification: The Himalayas are technically called 'Young Fold Mountains'.
Previous State: Before the crash, the area was occupied by the massive ancient 'Tethys Sea'.
Are they still growing?: Yes! The Indian plate is still pushing into Asia today at a speed of 5 centimeters per year, which means the Himalayas (and Mount Everest) are literally getting slightly taller every single year.
According to the science of Plate Tectonics, the crust of the Earth is broken into massive puzzle pieces called 'Tectonic Plates' that float on the boiling magma inside the earth. Around 200 million years ago, the massive landmass of 'India' was not attached to Asia. It was actually an island floating down near Antarctica. Slowly, the massive Indian Plate broke off and started drifting rapidly North across the ocean towards the giant Eurasian Plate (Asia).
Around 50 million years ago, the floating Indian Plate violently crashed directly into the Eurasian Plate. Because both massive rock plates were equally hard and thick, neither one could sink underneath the other. Instead, the incredible pressure of the crash caused the Earth's crust in the middle (the bottom of the Tethys sea) to violently buckle, fold, and crumple upward into the sky.
This massive crumpling of rock formed a giant wall of mountains. Because the rock was literally 'folded' upward like a crushed carpet, geologists officially classify the Himalayas as Young Fold Mountains.
The Himalayas were formed millions of years ago by the violent, slow-motion collision between the massive Indian tectonic plate and the Eurasian tectonic plate.
Because the crust was violently crumpled and folded upward during the crash, they are officially classified by geologists as 'Young Fold Mountains'.
Before the crash, a massive, ancient body of water called the Tethys Sea existed exactly where the massive mountains stand today.
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