In this diagram I will tell you how a mountain is formed:


Here are some of the ways that mountains form:

Two plates can press against each other until the land is lifted and folded over itself.




Folded mountains of the Tibetan Plateau (photo by Alton Byers)


One plate can push on top of another one. As one plate slides downward into the earth, it begins to melt. The melted rock rushes upward along cracks and weak spots, bursting out as fiery volcanoes. You can see a huge “ring of fire” where volcanoes circle the Pacific Ocean.