Mountains are like big, rocky bumps on the Earth! 🌍 They form when the ground pushes up very slowly over a long, long time. Sometimes, the Earth's pieces (called plates) crash together like toy blocks, and that makes mountains grow taller!
Imagine pushing two blankets together—they wrinkle up. That's kind of how mountains form!
Mountains form in different ways, but most grow because of tectonic plates—huge pieces of Earth's crust that move like a slow puzzle. 🌏 When two plates push together, the land crumples and rises, forming mountains over millions of years!
Some mountains, like volcanoes, grow when hot melted rock (magma) from deep inside Earth erupts and piles up.
Mountains form through tectonic activity, volcanism, and erosion. The most common way is when tectonic plates collide, causing the crust to fold and uplift. This creates fold mountains, like the Himalayas. 🌋
Volcanic mountains, like Mount Fuji, form when magma erupts and hardens over time. Fault-block mountains (like the Sierra Nevada) rise when giant rock slabs tilt or break.
Erosion also shapes mountains—wind and water wear them down while tectonic forces push them up!