mountain mysteries

a short story about mountain creation for middle school students

Hannah grabbed her hiking boots and backpack, ready for adventure. This summer she would explore the mysteries of the world's majestic mountains.

First stop - the Rocky Mountains. As Hannah gazed up at the towering 14,000 foot peaks, she wondered what forces could possibly create such immense landforms. She trekked through pine forests and along rivers carved through solid rock. Camping under the stars, Hannah traced the arch of the Milky Way with her finger. She realized the Rocky Mountains stretched like a backbone through the very heart of North America.

Next Hannah traveled to the Andes Mountains of South America. She was awestruck by the steep 22,000 foot slopes. As she hiked between ice-blue glaciers and cliffs cloaked with mist, Hannah spied snow-capped volcanoes piercing the sky. That night her tent was buffeted by fierce winds howling down from the peaks.

When the sun rose, Hannah consulted her map again. She saw the Nazca plate diving under the South American plate, fueling the rise of the mighty Andes. "The faster subduction of the Nazca plate explains the extreme heights of the Andes compared to the Rockies," Hannah realized.

For her final adventure, Hannah flew to Asia. She joined local guides to trek into the highest mountains on Earth - the Himalayas. Hannah trudged up the dusty trail, gasping in the thin air at 29,000 feet. She passed colorful prayer flags flapping in the wind next to ancient Buddhist monasteries carved into the mountainside.

That night in her sleeping bag, Hannah shivered as the temperature dropped below freezing. She studied the map on her tablet, tracing the 2,000 mile arc of the Himalayas. "Look how fast the Indian plate slams into the Eurasian plate - over 4 inches per year! No wonder the Himalayas are the tallest mountains on the planet." Explore Hannah's map below.

As she gazed up at the star-filled sky from her sleeping bag, Hannah smiled with satisfaction. She had unlocked the mysteries of the Rocky Mountains, the Andes, and the Himalayas. Her adventures had revealed how the tremendous forces of plate tectonics could create even the grandest mountains on Earth.

Educational resource reference:

NGSS:MS-ESS2-3 – Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils, rocks, continental shapes, & seafloor structures to provide evidence of past plate motions.
NGSS:MS-ESS2.B – Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

Tags: geocomic earth mountains plate tectonics FK8