How Do Mountains Form Over Millions of Years?

Mountains are like buildings that get taller over time. Imagine the Earth’s surface is made of giant puzzle pieces, these are called tectonic plates. When two of them crash into each other, they push up big mountains, just like how bricks stack on top of each other when you build a tower.

Sometimes, one plate slides under another, causing earthquakes and even volcanoes nearby. Over millions of years, these collisions and movements slowly raise the land to make huge mountains like the Himalayas or the Andes.

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Examples

  1. A small hill grows into a big mountain when two giant pieces of Earth’s crust slowly push together like puzzle pieces.
  2. A rock layer bends and folds into the shape of a mountain because of pressure from below.
  3. An earthquake shakes the ground, making rocks move up to form new land.

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