Name: Christianna
Status: Student
Grade: 9-12
Location: CA
Country: United States
Date: January 2007
Question:
When two tectonic plates collide, does the size of
the plate determine the size of the mountain formation?
Replies:
Christianna,
The tallest mountains in the world are in the Himalayans, the
tallest is of course Mount Everest. This mountain range lies on the
border of the Indian plate, the Eurasian plate and the Arabian
plate. While the Eurasian plate is quite large, the other two are
quite small.
The first link shows a good picture of all of the plate boundaries
and the second link is a Java Applet of a world relief map--it will
show you where all of the mountain ranges are in the world and you
can zoom up on them. Comparing these two maps will give you a
better understanding of the mountain ranges that have formed
compared to where the plate boundaries are. I cannot answer you
question with any certainty, but I would think that the mountain
ranges that have formed are based more on momentum of the plates
(mass multiplied by velocity) instead of just overall size. If you
track down how fast the plates are moving and in which direction,
you can probably form a much better theory as to what the primary
factor is in mountain formation.
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