What generalizations can be made about mountain building?
The cause of all mountain building is related to the movement of tectonic plates. Convergent plate boundaries, in particular, are places where mountains form. At these boundaries, one plate meets another. There are two types of convergent plate boundaries and mountains form differently at each. Mountain Building Related To Subduction Zones Subduction zones are places where the edge of one plate is forced under the edge of another plate. At subduction zones, mountains can be formed in two ways: 1) Pieces of buoyant lithosphere (the crust fused to the upper part of the mantle) riding on top of the downgoing plate may eventually be brought to the convergent boundary. Examples of buoyant lithosphere with continental crust include small continental fragments and island arcs (an arc-shaped formation of volcanoes built up from the sea floor). Buoyant lithosphere with oceanic crust includes oceanic plateaus (broad regions of thick oceanic crust). Regardless of type, buoyant lithosphere cannot
