Characteristics

♤ Fold mountains are the youngest mountains on the surface of the Earth.

♤ Young folded mountains represent the highest mountains on the earth. They also have the highest mountain summits. Mt. Everest is the most typical example (8848m).

♤ Fold mountains have been formed due to the folding of sedimentary rocks formed due to the deposition and consolidation of sediments in water bodies mainly in the oceanic environment.

♤ The sedimentary rocks of the fold mountains were deposited in shallow seas. The greater thickness of sediments is possible due to the continuous sedimentation and subsidence.

♤ The length of the fold mountains is much more than their width. The east-west extent of the Himalayas is about 2400 km, but their north-south width is only 400 km. Thus the fold mountains must have been formed in long, narrow and shallow seas.

♤ Fold mountains are generally arc-shaped, having a concave slope on one side and convex on the other.

♤ Fold mountains are found along the margins of the continents facing ocean such as the Andes and the Rockies. If we consider the former Tethys Sea, then the Himalayas are also located along the margins of the continent.

♤ Fold mountains are mostly located in two directions. In the north-south direction lie the Rockies and the Andes, while in the west-east direction lie the Himalayas and the Alps.