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. 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. In the rate of plate movement are interpreted to mark the beginning of theĪrtist's conception of the 6,000-km-plus northward journey of the 'India' landmass (Indian Plate) before its collision with Asia (Eurasian Plate).

When India rammed into Asia about 40 to 50 million years ago, its South of the Asian continent, moving northward at a rate of about 9 m aĬentury. About 80 million years ago, India was located roughly 6,400 km The closing- of the Tethys, scientists have reconstructed India's northward When Pangaea broke apart about 200 million yearsĪgo, India began to forge northward. The Australian coast, and a vast ocean (called Tethys Sea) separated Indiaįrom the Asian continent. Skyward, contorting the collision zone, and forming the jagged HimalayanĪbout 225 million years ago, India was a large island still situated off The pressure of the impinging plates could only be relieved by thrusting The same rock density, one plate could not be subducted under the other. Because both these continental landmasses have about Years ago, when two large landmasses, India and Eurasia, driven by plate

This immense mountain range began to form between 40 and 50 million The lofty Himalayas, which stretch 2,900 km along the border between IndiaĪnd Tibet. Among the most dramatic and visible creations of plate-tectonic forces are

Towering pile of hats