Few Erosion and Mountain differences?

Question

1) Explain why erosion initially causes a mountain range to rise and then eventually causes the peak heights to decrease.

2) Describe the similarities and differences between the Andes and the Himalayan chain. Why do the differences exist?

Answer 1

Erosion does not cause mountain ranges to rise but they do cause them to decrease because water, wind, and ice eventually weathers and causes rock to eventually break down and be carried away by erosion.

The difference between the Andes and the Himalayan chain is that the Andes are located at a subduction zone because it is oceanic crust being subducted underneath the continental crust, so along with the continental uplift there is also volcanic activity. The Andes region have some of the most active volcanoes in the world.

The Himalayan region has been built by convergents of two continental plates and the uplift is a lot greater. There is no volcanic activity because there is not much subduction happening or the angle of the the plate sliding underneath the other is very shallow.

The similarities they share is: both of these regions are created at convergent plate boundaries and they are the two tallest regions in the world. Himalayas are the tallest and the Andes are the second tallest region in the world.

Another asker asked me the same question so I gave you the same answer as I did the asker.