Is gravity able to affect a mountain's height???

Question

I heard that because of gravity earth's nountains's height can't get over a certain height,about 27000 feet,is that true?

Answer 1

Yes, the earth's gravity affects a mountain's height.
The earth's crust beneath mountain ranges is thicker than normal continental crust and forms a downward "keel". Usually the thickening has been caused by convergence between tectonic plates (Hawaiian Islands and other hot spot chains are an exception). The height of a range is controlled by the buoyancy of the underlying crust and its thickness. Compare it to a floating ice cube or a floating iceberg.
When crustal density and thickness are fairly static, the crust is said to be in "isostatic equilibrium". Conversely, when crustal density or thickness is changing, then the land may rise or sink. Things that cause changes in density or thickness: converging plates continue to thicken the crust at their edges, big glaciers or surface ice melts, land surfaces are rapidly eroding, big blocks are sliding off the mountains along detachment faults. The Himalayas are not in "isostatic equilibrium" and they are rising.
At the earth's surface, gravity plus slope angles also influence rates of erosion and detachment faulting. Which is partly why mountain ranges don't look like flat-topped mesas.
It is likely that the Himalayas are pushing the limit of the height of mountains that tectonic processes, balanced against erosion and detachment faulting, could produce on earth.

Answer 2

Of course, gravity affects the mountains height, but not only gravity, you know that some things that are very heavy are harder to lift them up but there are forces that could make huge mountains. But as i said gravity is not the only one who affects these Terran formation. Another one is time, imagine how the Earth was born, how do we know if there wasn't a mountain that had 27000 feet or more? It's very hard because of it's mass and the power of the gravity adding time too the mountain will collapse. These phenomenas are in our time too you know, you see them on news about avalanche(of rocks, mud, earth, snow etc). But I don't know if the fact that mountains can't reach over that high, maybe it is true, but maybe not. It is possible for a mountain to reach a certain high that 27000, but it won't resist. Maybe I'm wrong, but I said what I knew.

Answer 3

confident, gravity can impact somebody's height. a minimum of, in case you have been born on the moon, as an occasion, scientists are not extremely optimistic how tall you ought to get. The moon in basic terms has a small fraction of the Earth's gravity. it incredibly is approximately 15% of Earth's gravity, plus or minus some share factors. So, in case you grew up on the moon as a new child, you could have all the organic and organic forces that make people strengthen to a classic height on the earth, yet those self same forces could be working in an surroundings with decrease gravity.

Answer 4

A mountain will subside, sink depending on how heavy it is, into the crust of the Earth. Olympus Mons on Mars is vastly taller because the gravity of Mars is only a fraction of that of the Earth. So unless it is growing faster then it is sinking mountains do not pass the upper limit.

Answer 5

Gravity makes the earth round,if it got stronger it would smooth lots of regions.
The height of a mountain depends on the compression strength of it"s rocky structure.

Answer 6

although the highest volcano so far discovered, olympus mons, is on mars and the lower gravity there is doubtless a large contributing factor, one also needs to consider what forces one has available to drive the thing upwards in the first place. once in place however like any man-made construction one needs to consider the strength of the foundations and the compressive strengths of the materials involved to determine how long it might stay up! hmm. tricky!

Answer 7

I believe that it would stop the growth because of the pull and pressure of gravity! But, as you know, anything is possible!

Answer 8

although gravity will help prevent mountains from getting too large, the size is greater than 27K ft since mt everest is >29k and others are bigger too

Answer 9

Must not be to true, Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet tall. And, it's getting taller...