CLIL360 2014 All rights reserved. May be photocopied for use in the classroom.

Images are from Wikimedia Commons and are in public domain

unless stated.
The Earths surface is broken into many pieces called
tectonic plates. The plates move because of heat from
the inside of the Earth. They move very slowly just a
few millimetres a year - but when they push against
another plate, mountain ranges are often formed. It
takes millions of years to form mountains.

Fold Mountains
When two plates push against each other, the land
along the edge of the plates is pushed upwards. This
is why many mountain ranges are long and narrow.
Many mountain ranges of the world were formed this
way.


The Himalayas were formed when the Indian Plate
pushed against the Eurasian Plate. In fact, the
Himalayas are still being formed: The Indian Plate is
moving north into the Eurasian Plate and the
Himalayas are rising by about a millimetre a year.

The Alps were formed when the African Plate pushed
against the Eurasian Plate. The Alps are still being
formed. In millions of years, the Alps will be as high as
the Himalayas and the Mediterranean Sea will
disappear.
Fault-Block Mountains
When tectonic plates move, large cracks, called faults,
are formed in the Earth's surface. Sometimes, huge
blocks of rock, often hundreds of kilometres long, are
formed inside these faults. Sometimes, these huge
blocks of rock are pushed upwards by the movement
of tectonic plates. Sometimes the blocks move apart,
forming a valley in between. The Sierra Nevada
Mountains in the USA, and the Black Forest in
Germany, are examples of block mountain ranges.

Volcanoes
Volcanoes are formed when hot rock (magma) below
the surface of the Earth is pushed up and through the
surface of the Earth. This often happens when one
tectonic plate slides under another plate, and when two
tectonic plates move away from each other.
Dome Mountains
Dome mountains are formed when magma rises from
inside the Earth but does not come through the
surface. Instead, the magma pushes up the Earth's
crust. Eventually, the magma cools and goes hard. A
dome mountain usually forms a dome shape. Dome
mountains are usually surrounded by flat land.
Sometimes magma rises over a large area, such as
the Llano Uplift in Texas.
Plateau Mountains
Plateau mountains are large areas of high, flat land
(plateaus) which have been eroded by wind, water and
ice. For example, valleys will be formed by streams
and rivers over thousands of years, and mountains will
be formed either side of the valley. The Cook
Mountains in New Zealand and the Catskill Mountains
of New York State are examples of plateau mountains.