Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Formation of Mountains: Types, Mt Everest Formation & FAQ

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In this article, we will discuss the formation of mountains.

 

  1. Mountains  

Mountains are land’s physical features protruding high beyond the hills and very high up the land surface with steep tops commonly shaped up to a peak. It is a feature that towers or rises above the level of the surrounding area more or less abruptly.

Mountain formation results from the forces of erosion, volcanism, or uplifts in the earth‘s crust. Usually, mountains occur in chains or ranges.
Have complex structures due to folding, faulting, volcanic activity, igneous intrusions, etc.

 

  2.  Formation of Mountains  

The formation of mountains is done by the folding, faulting, or warping of the Earth’s surface due to the displacement of various plate tectonics or by the formation of volcanic rock onto the surface.

The formation of mountains can be by volcanoes spewing lava over and over again. The lava cools and gets solid and makes a mountain. The islands of Hawaii are made of volcanoes. The formation of mountains takes a million billion years.

 

 

  3. Types of Mountain  

Any landmass that is elevated above 1,000 feet in the surrounding area is taken as a mountain.

Different types of mountains have different methods of origin:
a. Fold mountains
b. Block mountains
c. Volcanic mountains and
d. Residual mountain

 

a. Fold Mountains
i. It results from the earth‘s crust being compressed from the sides
ii. The layers of rocks in the crust are pushed up to form a fold mountain.
iii. The Alps, Himalayas, and the Andes are examples.

 

Formation of Mountains

 

 

b. Block Mountain
Mountains formed due to faulting.
i. A part of the land block is depressed so that the remaining block stands conspicuously above the
surroundings.
ii. The uplifted section is termed the block mountain (horst)
iii. When the middle section falls down instead of going up, it forms the rift valley (graben).

 

Formation of Mountains

 

 

c. Volcanic Mountain
i. The outrushing magma forms the fissures in the crust of the earth at a place into a dome, mountains formed in such a way are called volcanic or laccolith mountains.
ii. Volcanoes emit gases, liquids, and solids as well. The gases are lost in the atmosphere, but the liquid and solid accumulate and heaps around the fissure or orifice.
iii. During continued activity for years, the accumulation grows into an enormous size justifying the name mountain.

 

Formation of Mountains

 

 

d. Residual Mountain
i. When existing mountains or plateaus are in eroding state the resulting structures are called
residual mountains or relict mountains
ii. The eroding agents are snow, wind, rain
iii. They erode the softer materials from the existing mountains thus reshaping the lower hills and valleys.

 

Formation of Mountains

 

 

  4. How was Mt Everest formed?  

Mount Everest was produced from a tectonic collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates tens of millions of years ago. The smashup crushed the landscape, elevating mountains along 1,5000 miles, a range that is known as the Himalayas range.

 

Formation of Mountains

 

 

  5. Which rock is found on Mt Everest?  

The common rocks and minerals available on Mount Everest are granite, limestone, garnet, and schist. Granite is an igneous rock available on the lower slopes of Mount Everest and entire the Everest region.

 

  6. Did Mt Everest grow after the earthquake?  

Mt Everest has grown by 86 cm but not by the earthquake that came in 2015. The reason behind it is plate tectonics between Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

 

  7. Is Mt Everest a volcano?  

No, Mt Everest isn’t a volcano. It was produced from a tectonic collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates tens of millions of years ago. The smashup crushed the landscape, elevating mountains along 1,5000 miles, a range that is known as the Himalayas range.

 

  8. Effect of Earthquake on Mountain  

Larger earthquakes can be the reason behind the formation of mountains topography by making rock uplift more than 1,000 feet but also crumble mountains by causing landslides.

The formation of mountains can be by volcanoes spewing lava over and over again. The lava cools and gets solid and makes a mountain. The islands of Hawaii are made of volcanoes.

 

 

  9. List of  World’s Highest Peaks  

 

( Note: Mobile users are requested to tilt mobile or zoom figures for the best experience. )

Position Mountain name(s) Height
(rounded)
Prominence
(rounded)
Range
1 Mount Everest

Sagarmatha

Chomolungma

8,848.86 29,029 Mahalangur Himalaya
2 K2 8,611 4,020 Baltoro Karakoram
3 Kangchenjunga 8,586 3,922 Kangchenjunga Himalaya
4 Lhotse 8,516 610 Mahalangur Himalaya
5 Makalu 8,485 2,378 Mahalangur Himalaya
6 Cho Oyu 8,188 2,340 Mahalangur Himalaya
7 Dhaulagiri I 8,167 3,357 Dhaulagiri Himalaya
8 Manaslu 8,163 3,092 Manaslu Himalaya
9 Nanga Parbat 8,126 4,608 Nanga Parbat Himalaya
10 Annapurna I 8,091 2,984 Annapurna Himalaya
11 Gasherbrum I

Hidden Peak

K5

8,080 2,155 Baltoro Karakoram
12 Broad Peak 8,051 1,701 Baltoro Karakoram
13 Gasherbrum II

K4

8,035 1,524 Baltoro Karakoram
14 Shishapangma

Gosainthan

8,027 2,897 Jugal Himalaya
15 Gyachung Kang 7,952 672 Mahalangur Himalaya
S Gasherbrum III

K3a

7,946 355 Baltoro Karakoram
16 Annapurna II 7,937 2,437 Annapurna Himalaya
17 Gasherbrum IV

K3

7,932 712 Baltoro Karakoram
18 Himalchuli 7,893 1,633 Manaslu Himalaya
19 Distaghil Sar 7,884 2,525 Hispar Karakoram
20 Ngadi Chuli 7,871 1,011 Manaslu Himalaya
S Nuptse 7,864 305 Mahalangur Himalaya
21 Khunyang Chhish 7,823 1,765 Hispar Karakoram
22 Masherbrum

K1

7,821 2,457 Masherbrum Karakoram
23 Nanda Devi 7,816 3,139 Garhwal Himalaya
24 Chomo Lonzo 7,804 590 Mahalangur Himalaya
25 Batura Sar 7,795 3,118 Batura Karakoram
26 Rakaposhi 7,788 2,818 Rakaposhi-Haramosh Karakoram
27 Namcha Barwa 7,782 4,106 Assam Himalaya
28 Kanjut Sar 7,760 1,660 Hispar Karakoram
29 Kamet 7,756 2,825 Garhwal Himalaya
30 Dhaulagiri II 7,751 2,397 Dhaulagiri Himalaya
31 Saltoro Kangri

K10

7,742 2,160 Saltoro Karakoram
32 Kumbhakarna

Jannu

7,711 1,036 Kangchenjunga Himalaya
33 Tirich Mir 7,708 3,910 Hindu Kush
S Molamenqing 7,703 433 Langtang Himalaya
34 Gurla Mandhata 7,694 2,788 Nalakankar Himalaya
35 Saser Kangri I

K22

7,672 2,304 Saser Karakoram
36 Chogolisa 7,665 1,624 Masherbrum Karakoram
S Dhaulagiri IV 7,661 469 Dhaulagiri Himalaya
37 Kongur Tagh 7,649 3,585 Kongur Shan (Eastern Pamirs)
S Dhaulagiri V 7,618 340 Dhaulagiri Himalaya
38 Shispare 7,611 1,240 Batura Karakoram
39 Trivor 7,577 997 Hispar Karakoram
40 Gangkhar Puensum 7,570 2,995 Kula Kangri Himalaya
41
  • Gongga Shan
  • Minya Konka
7,556 3,642 Daxue Mountains (Hengduan Shan)
42 Annapurna III 7,555 703 Annapurna Himalaya
43 Skyang Kangri 7,545 1,085 Baltoro Karakoram
44 Changtse 7,543 514 Mahalangur Himalaya
45 Kula Kangri 7,538 1,654 Kula Kangri Himalaya
46 Kongur Tiube 7,530 840 Kongur Shan (Eastern Pamirs)
S Annapurna IV 7,525 255 Annapurna Himalaya
47 Mamostong Kangri 7,516 1,803 Rimo Karakoram
48 Saser Kangri II E 7,513 1,458 Saser Karakoram
49 Muztagh Ata 7,509 2,698 Muztagata (Eastern Pamirs)
50 Ismoil Somoni Peak 7,495 3,402 Pamir (Academy of Sciences Range)

 

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Read Also: How are Earthquakes Measured?

 

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Er. Madhu Krishna Poudel
Er. Madhu Krishna Poudel
He is a founder and lead author of Dream Civil International and his civil engineering research articles has been taken as source by world's top news and educational sites like USA Today, Time, The richest, Wikipedia, etc.
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