Exploratour - Spectacular Crashes in the Universe

This drawing shows the position of the continents during the Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous period lasted from 144my to 66my. It is well know as the last period of time in which dinosaurs lived.

This is a drawing of the continent of India crashing into the continent of Asia. India is the purple continent to the right of the continent of Africa.

The theory of plate tectonics tells us that many millions of years ago, the continent which was to become India drifted along until it ran into Asia. This spectacular crash resulted in the building of the Himalayan mountains.


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Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA