How were Mountains formed ?

Question

id like to know how they originated , how was the atmosphere of the Earth back then ??
In fact , hw did the Earth come into existence .....???????

Answer 1

A mountain is usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates, either orogenic movement or epeirogenic movement. The compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upwards, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, a mountain. The absolute heights of features termed mountains and hills vary greatly according to an area's terrain. The major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Mountain creation tends to occur in discrete periods, each referred to as an orogeny. The orogeny may last millions of years, and the uplifted region is being eroded away, producing valley-and-peak terrain, even while the uplift is taking place. Two types of mountain are formed depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces – block mountains or fold mountains.

The compressional forces in continental collisions may cause the compressed region to thicken, so the upper surface is forced upwards. In order to balance the weight, much of the compressed rock is forced downwards, producing deep "mountain roots". Mountains therefore form downwards as well as upwards However, in some continental collisions part of one continent may simply override part of the others, crumpling in the process.

Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes, including many apparently small islands that reach a great height above the ocean floor.

Block mountains are created when large areas are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements. This occurrence is fairly common. The uplifted blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range province of Western North America and the Rhine valley.

Where rock does not fault it folds, either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the downfolds are synclines; in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds. The Jura mountains are an example of folding. Over time, erosion can bring about an inversion of relief: the soft upthrust rock is worn away so the anticlines are actually lower than the tougher, more compressed rock of the synclines.

Answer 2

Mountains are formed when the Earth's crust folds and bends upward. Mountains can form in many different ways. When continental plates push together and their edges crumple and fold, a mountain is formed also called orogeny. Most of the highest mountains, such as the Himalayas form where continental plates collide. Other mountains form near the ocean when continental and oceanic plates collide. The Cascade Mountains, near the Pacific Ocean, formed this way.Mountains can even form when pressure pushes up blocks of rocks between plates. The Grand Tetons of Wyoming rise straight up from the flat land around them. Mountains also form when plates pull apart and magma bubbles up between the plates. This magma forms long chains of mountains under the ocean. These mountains are called mid-oceanic ridges. Most Earthquakes occur on or near any fault-line type. 3 hours ago 0 Rating: Good Answer 0 Rating: Bad Answer Report It by Ronatron... Member since: June 15, 2008 Total points: 250 (Level 2) Add to My Contacts Block User Mountains form from the collision of two converging tectonic plates. When tectonic plates collide, one of them is forced down underneath the other into the 'subduction zone'. This causes the top plate to uplift, creating mountains on the surface. Therefore, mountains are always formed 'behind' these converging tectonic plate margins and subduction zone. Earthquakes occur from a build up of pressure in the subduction zone from converging plates. So in answer to your question, no an earthquake cannot occur where mountains exist... mountains are technically a result of an earthquake. The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are a convergent plate system which has resulted in the formation of the Rockies. You won't hear about an earthquake hitting Colorado because the subuction zone is under California. Hence all the earthquakes in California.

Answer 3

The mountains were formed by the tectonic plates of the earth pushing against each other. The involved mass had no way to go but "up".

The atmosphere was formed by the gravitaional pull of the earth attracting gasses (sp?) from nearby space.

The Earth probably came into existence in a similar way. Several masses in space attracted together by gravity. This mass, being greater, attracted more mass, and the process continued until what we now know as the Earth was formed.

Answer 4

gurman the master,

It seems like most people who have answered this question are either creationists or haven't studied a lot of geology. Here's a simple answer to your question:

Most mountains are formed when one tectonic plate collides with another, and material from one of the plates is folded and pushed up into a mountain belt. The various mountain belts around the world formed at different times in earth's history, from different tectonic events. Also, some mountains and even mountain belts are formed because either 1)the melting of a plate sliding another plate, or 2) a plume of hot magma from the mantle of the earth, causes hot material to erupt from the ground and form volcanoes.

The earth, and all the planets, came into existence when hot material revolving around the sun began cooling and coalescing into distinct bodies. As far as the atmosphere of the early earth, there is still debate over its exact composition and evolution, but there were cases like ammonia and methane that are not present now, and there was less oxygen.

Answer 5

Over long periods of time, mountains are created by tremendous forces in the earth with a steep top usually shaped up to a peak or ridge. Mountains occur more often in oceans than on land; some mountainsislands are the peaks of mountains coming out of the water. Mountains are formed by volcanism, erosion, and disturbances or uplift in the earth's crust. Most geologists believe that the majority of mountains are formed by geological forces heat and pressure producing changes under the earth's crust and movements in the earth's crust. They call this movement plate tectonics. This theory sees the crust of the earth divided into a number of vast rigid plates that move about at the rate of a few centimeters a year. The uplift is caused by the collision of plates below the earth's surface that triggers various geologic processes that produce this crustal uplift. Other processes are caused by horizontal compression that is the deformation of crustal strata which produces folds or wrinkles. The Himalayas, for example, were raised by the compression that accompanied collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate. Another example is Europe's Alps and Jura mountains which were also formed by horizontal compression, generated in their case by collision with the African plate and the Eurasian plate.

Some ranges of low mountains are raised by nontectonic processes, and are caused by sculpturing effects of differential erosion. Erosion occurs when wind, rain and ice are present. Mountains are impacted by erosion through the combined action of wind, rain and ice changing the shapes of the mountains.

Volcanism causes mountains to form. Examples of mountains formed by periodically dangerous volcanic action are Mount Ranier and Mount Saint Helens in the United States, Mount Erebus in Antarctica, Mount Vesuvius in Italy, and Mount Fuji in Japan. Many of these volcanic mountains have summit craters that still emit steam and debris; others that no longer show signs of volcanic activity may only be dormant, not extinct. Shield volcanoes found in Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii are less spectacular even when quite high.

Answer 6

In most cases tectonic plates moving and shifting under the Earth's crust collide and cause mountains to form. These collisions also are behind the cause of earthquakes and fault lines.

For the Himilayas however, they were created by tectonic collision, but also because the subcontinent of India crashed into Asia so the mountains in the Himalayan region are much larger than elsewhere.

Answer 7

Geologists believe that most mountains are formed by movements in the earth’s crust. The plate tectonics model del describes the crust of the earth as made up of a number of vast plates that move about at the rate of a few centimeters a year leading to the collision and separation of continents and the subsequent development of mountain belts.

Movements that result in collisions between plates tend to raise the crust by faulting, folding, or arching up layers of rock. Movements that result in separation, or rifting, of plates cause some blocks of crust to sink, leaving other blocks to tower above them.

Volcanic eruptions also raise mountains, and much of the world’s volcanic activity is concentrated along the active margins of crustal plates.
Finally, some ranges of low mountains are created by nontectonic processes, chief among these being the sculpturing effects of erosion, which wears away softer rock and leaves the harder rock.


Mountains can be found standing alone or grouped together in chains called ranges. Mountains are found both above and below sea level. Mountains covered by water are called seamounts. The tallest seamount lies in the Pacific Ocean, rising from the ocean floor to become one of the Hawaiian Islands. Mountain ranges below sea level are called ridges

Answer 8

Mountains came up because of the collision of the tectonic plates and the volcanic activity.

Earth came into existence along with sun and other planets out of the swirling dust. Read any good book on cosmology and for mountains, read geology.

Answer 9

Here are some of the ways that mountains form:

Two plates can press against each other until the land is lifted and folded over itself.
One plate can push on top of another one. As one plate slides downward into the earth, it begins to melt. The melted rock rushes upward along cracks and weak spots, bursting out as fiery volcanoes. You can see a huge “ring of fire” where volcanoes circle the Pacific Ocean.
Plates can stretch until they crack and slide, forming fault-block mountains.

In the ocean, great underwater mountains are formed when plates spread away from one another, and melted rock pushes up through the gap

Glaciers carve out spectacular scenery in mountains. Glaciers pluck rock right out of the mountainside and carry it downward in a river of ice. Glaciers form sharp horns, rounded bowls, and U-shaped valleys.
Given enough time, millions of years generally, all mountains crumble. High jagged peaks become low rounded hills. Finally, mountains wear away to become soil on plains, sand on beaches, or sediments in oceans.

What makes mountains crumble? Rain, wind, and ice wear away mountains. Water gets into the cracks in rocks and pushes the cracks wider as it expands with both heat and cold. Water also dissolves some minerals, washing them out of the rocks. Eventually, the rocks crack and split off. Some crash down the mountain as boulders, others move only a tiny bit as clay particles.

Answer 10

mountains are formed when two Continental plates crash into each other. when this happens the plates buckle and push up the land which causes mountain to form. the atmosphere was not breathable the gases were poisons. the earth was formed when a magnetic subsidence began to move in a clockwise motion and as it did this it started to pull in other space debase which formed into our planet.