Birth of The Himalayas

Plate Tectonics is the theory that the earth is broken up into different moving plates that drift apart in some areas and collide in others.  This slow process (the plates move at about 15-20 cm per year) is constantly occuring and causes many of the earth’s features to form.  When plates collide together the pressure pushes mountains up into the atmosphere. 

One of the more famous mountains (and tallest) is Mount Everest (8,848 meters/ 29,029 ft).  Mount Everest (179 people have died trying to reach the summit) is part of the Himalayas and formed when the Indian tectonic plate smashed into the Eurasian tectonic plate.

                 

Click here to see a panaramic view of the mountain

Click here, here and here to read about Mr. Everest.