MOUNTAINS

PART 1 - GEOGRAPHY

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD The Himalayas Location: Southern Asia stretching across the countries of Tibet, China, India, Pakistan and Nepal, at the junction of the Indian and Eurasian Continental Plates

World Location - Himalayas

HIMALAYAS - Formation Formed by the collision of the Indian Continental Plate and the Eurasian Continental Plate, beginning about 40 million years ago Growing in height at a rate of 1 inch per year

HIMALAYAS Contains over 90% of the tallest peaks on Earth Summit of K2 Mt. Everest

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD ALPS - Location: Southern and central Europe, including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Austria

World Location - The ALPS

THE ALPS - Formation Formed by the collision of the Eurasian Continental Plate and the African Continental Plate, beginning about 45 million years ago Growing in height at a rate of 1/2 inch per year

THE ALPS Lower than the Himalayas, with more alpine meadows, lakes and glacial valleys Located in a populated region of Europe Mt. Blanc in France is 15,771 ft. highest The famous Matterhorn

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD ANDES - Location: Western Coast of South America, including the countries of Columbia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil

World Location - The ANDES

THE ANDES - Formation Volcanic mountains formed by the collision and subduction of the Nazca Ocean Plate and the South American Plate, beginning about 50 million years ago Growing in height at a rate of 1 inch per year

THE ANDES - Volcanic At the subduction boundary, explosive volcanoes are formed The Andes are in the tropics, and lower elevations are covered in rain forest Tallest peak is Mt. Aconcagua – 22,834’

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD THE Alaska Range Location: Alaska

World Location – Alaska Range

The Alaska Range - Formation Volcanic folded mountains formed by the collision and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the North American Plate Growing in height Mt. McKinley, highest mountain in North America (20,320 ft)

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD THE ROCKIES - Location: Central Western North America from Alaska through Canada to Mexico

World Location - The ROCKIES

THE ROCKIES - Formation Formed by the folding and uplift of the North American Plate, starting 100 million years ago. May be due to a “Superplume” Still growing in height 1/4 inch per year

THE ROCKIES - Folded Sediments Made of mostly old volcanic, and newer sedimentary rock Most of the Rockies is an ancient sea bed Has lots of lakes and alpine meadows Mt. Elbert – highest peak at 14,433 ft. Mt. Ebert

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD THE Appalachians - Location: Eastern North America from Maine to Georgia

World Location - The APPALACIANS

THE APPLACHIANS - Formation An ancient mountain range formed by the old collision of two continental plates, prior to Pangea (350 million years ago) Was once higher than the Himalayas Mt. Mitchell is highest peak at 6,684 ft. Eroding each year, (losing about 1”/year)

THE APPALACHIANS - Old and softer Some rocks in the Appalachians are 1 billion years old Many communities use these mountains Some regional names include the White, Green, Berkshire, Adirondack, Catskill, Allegheny, Pocono,, Shenandoah, Blue Ridge, Cumberland, Black, Smokies

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD THE SIERRA NEVADA MTS - Location: West Coast and central California

World Location - The SIERRA NEVADA

THE SIERRA NEVADA - Formation Formed by the folding of the western edge of the North American continent in collision with the Gorda plate A volcanic collision boundary mountain range Eroding at the same speed as it is being uplifted

THE SIERRA NEVADA Has active Stratovolcanoes (Mt. Shasta) Folded sedimentary mountains, similar to the Rockies Mt. Whitney – tallest mountain in lower 48 states (14,494‘)

THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD THE CASCADES - Location: Western edge of North America from California to British Columbia

World Location - The CASCADES

THE CASCADES - Formation Formed by the collision and subduction of the Juan De Fuca and Pacific Ocean Plates under the Continental North American Plate A subduction boundary volcanic mountain range Growing at 1/2 inch/yr

THE CASCADES Has numerous active volcanoes Mt. Rainer is highest Mt at 14,410 ft) Made of both Igneous rock and Sediments from old sea beds Surrounded by temperate conifer forests Mt. Rainer

Additional Mountain Ranges include: –The Urals - Northern Central Europe –The Atlas Mountains - Africa –The Transantarctics - Antarctica –Cherskiy Range - Eastern Siberia –Great Dividing Range - Australia –Ethiopian Highlands - Africa THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD

Mountains can also form by glacier action Huge glaciers form on the land They begin to slide downhill, carving a valley as they go The hills on either side of the valley become “Mountains”

Summary - Mountains form by: Crumpling due to plate collisions Rise due to Superplumes Uplift due to earthquakes Volcanic growth Glacier Action

ACTIVE CONTINENTAL MARGIN The edge of a continent at a Continental crust plate boundary. North American West Coast and South American West coast are active margin Plate boundaries. Mountains building, uplifting, faulting, earthquakes, and volcanoes can all occur here.

PASSIVE CONTINENTAL MARGIN The edge of a continent which is far from a crustal plate boundary. The East Coasts of North and South America are examples. Places where thick river and stream sediments occur. Deposition occurs, and can elevate the land, but mountain uplifting does not occur.

Active margin Passive margin

Active margin

Mountain Features Ridge Summit or Peak Slope U Shaped Valley Ravine

Mountain Features - Folds Syncline – a downfold in a rock layer Anticlines – an upfold in a rock layer Anticline Syncline ?

Glacial Mountains Shaped by cutting ice Peaks and edges are sharp Valleys are “U shaped”