

The Himalayas: Two continents collide

Artist's conception of the 6,000-km-plus northward journey of the "India" landmass (Indian Plate) before its collision with Asia (Eurasian Plate). Solid lines indicate present-day continents in the Indian Ocean region, but no geologic data exist to determine the exact size and shape of the tectonic plates before their present-day configurations. The dashed outlines for the "India" landmass are given for visual reference only, to show the inferred approximate locations of its interior part in the geologic past. The "India" landmass was once situated well south of the Equator, but its northern margins began to collide against the southward-moving Eurasian Plate about 40 to 50 million years ago (see text).

Sunset view of towering, snow-capped Mt. Everest, from the village of Lobuche (Solu-khumbu), Nepal. (Photograph by Gimmy Park Li.)