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How do tectonic plate movements physically create massive volcanic mountain ranges over millions of years?
When I look at the towering peaks of the Andes or the Himalayas, what violent underground geological forces pushed that rock into the sky?
E
EarthFan
asked 1mo ago · 10 rep
1 Answer(s)
0
The Earth's crust is fractured into giant moving plates. When a heavy oceanic plate crashes into a lighter continental plate, it subducts (dives underneath) into the mantle. The extreme heat melts the rock into magma, which violently erupts to the surface, cooling and stacking over eons to form massive volcanic mountain chains.
G
Geologist
answered 1mo ago