The Geography of the Himalaya
Machupachare -- "The Fish Tail"
In The Snow Leopard, Matthiessen treks through the Dolpo region of the Himalaya -- the youngest, highest, and most unstable mountain range on the planet. Below is an explanation from physicalgeography.net, which illustrates the formation of this amazing landscape.
Figure 10k-4 illustrates how the collision Eurasian and Indian plates created the Himalayas. In this orogeny, compressional forces squished sedimentary deposits that existed between the converging continental plates and rocks at the margin of the Eurasian and Indian plates upward in elevation. These forces also created a number of overthrust faults.
| Figure 10k-4: Formation of the Himalaya Mountains. Compressional forces due to the collision of the Eurasian and Indian continental plates caused ocean sediments and continental rocks to be pushed upward in elevation. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey). |
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Student Activity 5
A. Hit the slopes
B. Reach for the sky
Coming Soon!