Seashells on a mountain
Transcript
The Matterhorn is one of the most recognisable mountains in Europe.
Matterhorn
Swiss Alps
Located in the Swiss Alps, the highest point of the mountain, known as its summit, is 4477 metres above sea level.
summit
highest point of a mountain
Mountain summits are about as far as you can get from the beach.
But these are the fossilised shells of an extinct marine animal called an ammonite.
ammonite
How did they get to the top of a mountain?
Seashells on a mountain?
These seashells give us a clue about how some mountains, such as the Alps, were formed.
Mountains are generally classified as areas of the Earth's surface that rise more than 300 metres above sea level.
Mountains form part of the outer layer of the Earth, known as the crust.
crust
This is divided up into several sections, known as plates.
plate
These plates fit together like pieces of a jigsaw.
Some parts of the plate are land, while other parts are underwater.
These plates are always moving, but only by a few centimetres each year.
If two underwater plates collide, or move toward each other, they powerfully squeeze the seabed above them.
It’s pushed together from both sides, and has nowhere to go but up.
Over millions of years, the seabed crumples and folds, and is slowly forced above the sea – taking traces of marine life with it.
The folds caused by the colliding plates can sometimes be seen in the rocks.
Mountains that form in this way are called fold mountains.
fold mountains
formed by plates colliding
The Alps are spread over a large part of central Europe, including parts of France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
They were formed when the African plate collided with the Eurasian plate.
African Plate
Eurasian Plate
The discovery of fossilised seashells in the Alps confirmed that this land was once underwater.
And as the plates beneath these fold mountains continue to collide, the Alps are growing ever taller, rising another millimetre every year.
Fold mountains form when plates collide.
The Matterhorn is a very famous mountain in the Swiss Alps.
Matterhorn
Swiss Alps
Its highest point is almost four and a half thousand metres above sea level. The highest point is called the summit.
summit
highest point of a mountain
Mountain summits are usually a long way from the sea.
But these fossilised shells come from an animal that lived in the sea thousands of years ago.
fossilised shells
How did they get to the top of a mountain?
Seashells on a mountain?
These seashells give us a clue about how some mountains were formed – including the Alps.
Mountains are areas of the Earth's surface that rise more than 300 metres above sea level.
Mountains are part of the Earth’s crust.
crust
The crust is divided into sections. The sections are called plates.
plate
The plates fit together like pieces of a jigsaw.
Some parts of the plate are land. Other parts of the plate are underwater.
The plates are always moving. But they only move a few centimetres each year.
If two underwater plates collide, or move toward each other, they squeeze the seabed.
The seabed is pushed together from both sides. The only way it can go is up!
Over millions of years, the seabed folds and is pushed up above the sea. It takes things like shells with it.
You can see how the rocks have folded.
Mountains that form in this way are called fold mountains.
fold mountains
formed when plates colliding
The Alps cover a large area of central Europe.
The Alps formed when the African plate collided with the Eurasian plate.
African Plate
Eurasian Plate
When scientists found fossilised shells in the Alps, they knew that this land was once under the sea.
The plates below these fold mountains keep pushing together, so the Alps are growing taller – one millimetre taller every year!
Fold mountains form when plates collide.
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