This week I decided to visit the Himalayan mountain range and Tibetan plateau where they have formed because of the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate which began 50 million years ago. This collision is continental crust against continental crust. The Himalayas form a huge mountain range made up of minor ranges and surround western and southern edges of the Tibetan Plateau. They stretch from mainland China in the east to Pakistan in the west, across Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and northeast India. It is the largest range in the world and exists wholly in Asia. The Himalaya is an example of a collisional mountain belt, characterized by intense crustal shortening and uplift resulting from ongoing convergence between India and Eurasia. There are major thrust faults located here. In the Higher Himalaya and parts of the Lesser Himalaya, there are some normal faults found that constitute some brittle structures. There are compressive stresses found here. There are sedimentary rocks that include shale and limestone. Some metamorphic rocks found at this location include schist and gneiss. Two of the Himalayas’ major rock zones are comprised primarily of igneous plutonic rocks. Some of these rocks include granite, diorite, gabbro and monazite. Folding dominates the structural style.
Picture Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/6starsplus/32648583482
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