by Tennessee
To explain this particular question, one would have to explain why the Himalayas formed. They formed mostly from continental drift, which caused India (which was actually an island for a long amount of time) to be shoved against the coast of Nepal. The two joined together, but the force of India caused ridges and folds to form on Nepal.
India is still shoving against Nepal today, which is why the Himalayas are still growing. So, if there is ocean crust on top of one of the Himalayan peaks, the reason is that the part of Nepal that was shoved up was originally underwater. The ocean crust would be brought up with the land (presuming that the land was also shoved up), and become the Himalayan mountains. It would retain its ocean-crust-ness, while still being covered with dirt and trees and snow.
In conclusion, due to continental drift, mountains are formed from ocean crust, shoved up by a mighty collision. The Himalayas may have very well once been a coral reef before this. Nepal used to be flat, India used to be an island, and the reef was just a reef.
No comments:
Post a Comment