Do You Want To Explore The Beauty Of The World – Go To Mountains

By Author: Ann Philip
Total Articles: 91
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Mountains dominate surroundings with their towering heights. Have you ever watched a nearby tall mountain? How many years they will take to form such a huge structure? Let’s take a look at major types of mountains and their formation.

Many of the major mountains are formed when the earth’s tectonic plates crashed together. Because of the pressure, the sides of the tectonic plates will get crumpled. Mountain ranges are formed due to the crumpling of the tectonic plates. The Himalaya in Asia has been formed from such type of plate movements around 25 million year ago. And it is still growing. Geologists defined mountain as a landform that is at least 300 meters or above its surrounding area. The highest point of a mountain is called the peak or summit.

Mountains can be classified into different types, based on their formation. They are Fold Mountains, Fault-block Mountains, Dome Mountains, Volcanic Mountains and Plateau Mountains.

Fold Mountain is one of the common type of mountains seen all over the world. The mountain range stretching on for thousands of kilometers can be called as Fold Mountain. This ...
... type of mountain is formed on head-to-head clash of earth’s tectonic plates. In that crash, the edges of the two plates buckle and fold. And the folds of the plate form the mountain. The Himalayan Mountain and the Rocky Mountain in North America are the two good examples for Fold Mountain. Other examples for Fold Mountain are the Alps in Europe, the Andes in South America and the Urals in Russia.

Fault-block Mountains are formed when faults or cracks in the earth crust force materials upward. When Fold Mountains are formed with the folding of the tectonic plates, Block Mountains are created from the chunks. As time passes there come faults on the rocks. A movement along the faults can make earthquakes. When large blocks of rock along the sides of faults get lifted upwards, the ground on the opposite sides of the faults will go downwards. This depression gets filled in as time passes and leveled by the erosion of the mountains above. The Sierra Nevada Mountain is an example of Fault-block Mountain.

The interior of the earth is very hot and it has the capacity to melt rocks. Melted rocks together form a pool of magma. When magma pushes the earth’s crust up and hardens before erupting, Dome Mountains are created. As the magma gets cooled before eruption, it hardens into a dome shape. When compared to its surroundings, the dome shape will be higher and when erosion works on its top, there forms a circular mountain range.

Volcanic Mountains are formed when magma erupts out. The erupted magma contains ash, rock, lava and volcanic gases. As time passes, these materials get build up around the volcanic event and form a pile. Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii are the two important and largest Volcanic Mountains in the world. Mount Rainier in the US and Mount Fuji in Japan are the other familiar volcanic mountains.

Plateau Mountains are formed when tectonic plates collide and push up without folding. This mountain gets its shape on constant exposure to weathering and erosion. Plateau Mountains are flat areas that have been pushed above sea level by tectonic plates. These types of mountains can be seen near folded mountains. A good example of such type of mountain is mountains in New Zealand.

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Author Bio:- Ann is a freelancer. She likes to write about nature and natural phenomenon’s occurring there. She is a regular viewer of latest discoveries coming in national geographic channels on her home television connected to Dish TV Offers.