Are mountains formed on fault lines? how are they formed?

Question

can an earthquake occur(not the rare ones) where mountains exist? I never heard of an earthquake hiting Colorado...Isnt shifting plates beneath the surface the reasons mountains form?

Answer 1

Volcanic activity can also form mountains. There may be one more method. Not all geological activity occurs along fault lines.

Edited to add: I note that two contributors below me copied and pasted from the same source. I doubt either of them even knows what "orogeny" means, let alone know how to use it in a sentence.

Answer 2

Mountains form in various ways - some are formed when the crust gets pushed up and folded and thickened because two plates are moving toward each other, others when the crust is being stretched and rifted.  Both these involve faulting hence earthquakes. Some mountains are called fault block mountains because they are formed by a steep fault dropping one side relative tot he other side.

Plates don't shift below the surface, the earth's surface is the plate surface.  They do 'slide' on the plastic mantle, but this does not cause earthquakes because it is not brittle movement. Earthquakes can occur anywhere, but they are more common near plate boundaries.  Go to the website below for Colorado earthquake information.

Answer 3

Mountains are formed when the Earth's crust folds and bends upward. Mountains can form in many different ways. When continental plates push together and their edges crumple and fold, a mountain is formed also called orogeny. Most of the highest mountains, such as the Himalayas form where continental plates collide.

Other mountains form near the ocean when continental and oceanic plates collide. The Cascade Mountains, near the Pacific Ocean, formed this way.Mountains can even form when pressure pushes up blocks of rocks between plates. The Grand Tetons of Wyoming rise straight up from the flat land around them. Mountains also form when plates pull apart and magma bubbles up between the plates. This magma forms long chains of mountains under the ocean. These mountains are called mid-oceanic ridges.

Most Earthquakes occur on or near any fault-line type.

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by Ronatron... Member since:

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Mountains form from the collision of two converging tectonic plates. When tectonic plates collide, one of them is forced down underneath the other into the 'subduction zone'. This causes the top plate to uplift, creating mountains on the surface. Therefore, mountains are always formed 'behind' these converging tectonic plate margins and subduction zone. Earthquakes occur from a build up of pressure in the subduction zone from converging plates. So in answer to your question, no an earthquake cannot occur where mountains exist... mountains are technically a result of an earthquake. The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are a convergent plate system which has resulted in the formation of the Rockies. You won't hear about an earthquake hitting Colorado because the subuction zone is under California. Hence all the earthquakes in California.

Answer 4

Mountains form from the collision of two converging tectonic plates. When tectonic plates collide, one of them is forced down underneath the other into the 'subduction zone'. This causes the top plate to uplift, creating mountains on the surface. Therefore, mountains are always formed 'behind' these converging tectonic plate margins and subduction zone. Earthquakes occur from a build up of pressure in the subduction zone from converging plates. So in answer to your question, no an earthquake cannot occur where mountains exist... mountains are technically a result of an earthquake. The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are a convergent plate system which has resulted in the formation of the Rockies. You won't hear about an earthquake hitting Colorado because the subuction zone is under California. Hence all the earthquakes in California.

Answer 5

i thing this is an interesting question

but i cant ans it

Answer 6

Mountains are formed when the Earth's crust folds and bends upward. Mountains can form in many different ways. When continental plates push together and their edges crumple and fold, a mountain is formed also called orogeny. Most of the highest mountains, such as the Himalayas form where continental plates collide.

Other mountains form near the ocean when continental and oceanic plates collide. The Cascade Mountains, near the Pacific Ocean, formed this way.Mountains can even form when pressure pushes up blocks of rocks between plates. The Grand Tetons of Wyoming rise straight up from the flat land around them. Mountains also form when plates pull apart and magma bubbles up between the plates. This magma forms long chains of mountains under the ocean. These mountains are called mid-oceanic ridges.

Most Earthquakes occur on or near any fault-line type.