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How did India’s movement after Pangea’s breakup form the Himalayas?
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Pangea
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins near the end of the Permian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
Following the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea and the subsequent fragmentation of Gondwana, the Indian subcontinent began a northward migration across the Tethys Sea.12
Approximately 40 to 50 million years ago, India collided with the southern margin of Eurasia. This collision initiated a massive tectonic event that continues today as India continues to move northward at a rate of about 2.4 inches (6 cm) per year. The formation of the Himalayas resulted from several key processes:34
- Crustal Shortening and Thrusting: As India penetrated some 2,000 kilometers into Asia, the leading edge of the Indian plate was forced beneath the southern margin of the Asian plate. This action scraped off sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from India’s northern margin, thrusting them upward and onto one another to form the mountain chain.534
- Crustal Thickening: The intense compression caused the continental crust to thicken significantly, creating the Plateau of Tibet, which is the thickest concentration of continental crust on Earth.34
- Isostatic Uplift: The massive crustal roots formed by this collision contribute to the elevation of the range in accordance with the principles of isostasy.3