Which geological process primarily created the Himalaya mountain range, including its ongoing tectonic uplift?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Continental collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate
- Step 1: Approximately 50 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, the fast-moving Indian tectonic plate collided with the Eurasian continental landmass.
- Step 2: Because both plates consist of buoyant continental crust, neither could subduct deeply, causing the sediments of the ancient Tethys Sea to fold and crumple upward into the highest mountains on Earth.
Answer
Continental collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate
Why not the others: 'Volcanic hotspot activity' formed volcanic island chains like Hawaii; 'Rifting and divergent spreading' creates features like the East African Rift or Mid-Atlantic Ridge; 'Glacial isostatic rebound' causes local land elevation adjustments in Scandinavia and Canada.
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