Mountains occupy 24% of the land surface. Naturally, if the mountains are young, prone to tectonism, volcanism and seismism.

How mountains are formed - all versions

Each people living in the mountains created their own legend about mountain building. The popular version is the giant people, frozen or punished for their deeds by higher forces. From time to time they come to life, demonstrating their evil character

Fortunately, today we have a complete list of the reasons for the formation of mountains, so the fear of this form of relief can be left only to those who violate safety precautions during trekking, mountain hikes, mountain climbing. Let's explore together the question of how mountains are actually “born”. Keep in mind that the genesis of the mountain system has become a key classifier for this landform.

Types of mountain building

Folded mountains

The first option - folded mountains, were the result of the work of the Earth's internal forces. The negotiated relief shape is obtained in the event of a convergence (collision) of two lithospheric plates. The most striking example is the “incision” of the Indo-Australian plate into the Eurasian, as a result of which the crust crumpled into folds, forming the Himalayas.

As a bonus, you can recall the Alps, resulting from the interaction of the African-Arabian platform with the same Eurasian.

Or Cordillera, obtained during the "collision" of the North American platform on a plate lying under the water masses of the Pacific Ocean.“Design” of folded mountains - several rows of mountain ranges running parallel to one another. With developed imagination or during a flight on an airplane, you can “see” how the crust crumpled into folds, forming modern mountain systems.

Block-folded mountains

Another option for mountain formation is biphasic tectonism. In the first phase, we get typical folded mountains. The process is familiar - described above. But! The mountain range can be long. And the crust everywhere is divided into blocks. Which can move up and down, regardless of the general movement of the platform. Therefore, in the second phase of this type of mountain building, a long-long mountain range is divided into fragments. One begins to slowly move up, the other down, the third also down, but at a different speed.

The design of such a mountain system is “slightly” different from ordinary folded mountain chains. It turns out something that looks like a dash-dotted line: a mountain massif is a secondary plain, a mountain massif is a plain. A striking example is the Crimean mountains, which have a significant gap between the eggs. Plus - the Appalachian Mountains, the Ural Mountains, the Tien Shan.

Volcanic mountains

Judging by the name, volcanic mountains are volcanoes. All is correct. Formed during the flow and cooling of magma. Therefore, volcanic cones are composed of many layers of igneous rocks. For example, obsidian. Examples of volcanic mountains are the handsome Kilimanjaro, located in the center of East Africa. The many volcanoes that make up the body of the Japanese, Hawaiian or Great Sunda Islands.

Epiplatform mountains

This landform can be called pseudo-mountains. They are the most elevated part of the platform (block), therefore they give the impression of a global mountain range. A classic example is the Dragon Mountains in southern Africa, which are based on the elevated, and then abruptly breaking off to the Indian Ocean, part of the African-Arabian platform.

In the formation of mountains, primarily, the Internal forces of the Earth take part. Specifically - endless tectonism and very "photogenic" volcanism. But the visual series - the “design” of a particular mountain system, depends on its age, hardness / softness of the rocks that make up the body of the object, as well as the work of the Earth’s external forces that dominate the area of ​​interest to us.