Do mountain roots stabilize the Earth? Or just the mountain? Thanks?

Answer 1

Mountains float on the basaltic rock that comprise the seafloor bed as well under the continents. In other words, mountains are geological fluff.

Answer 2

Well, you need to look at crustal plates as floating ice. Much of it is like sheet ice and it is all floating on a liquid in much the same way. Mountains are like ice cubes. You have more mass below the surface than the sheet ice has, but it still floats on top.

I can understand how one might also wonder how weight factors in with mountains. But in comparison with the total weight of the plate, it is most like very insignificant. Of course, we don't know much about what is past the mantle (the liquid that the crusts float on). We do know that the mantle is a layer of magma, but that leaves more unanswered questions in and of itself.

I probably opened up more questions, but I hope I answered the one you were asking. I've included a couple of good sites (sorry-they are aimed at kids, but they're still good) in the sources section of my answer. They aren't really my sources, but might give you more information to answer more questions on the subject.

Answer 3

Yes they do!
What do you think?
Do you know something called isostacy?
They are Gravitational equipotential surfaces (the geoid) on the Earth. And a major cause of that mountains and their enormous mass. Crust is deeper under the mountains!
And why there a question mark at the end of "Thanks" in your question?

Answer 4

Well. . . what would they stabalize the earth from?