Movement of Mountains

Aijaz Uncategorized, , ,
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

27:88    وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ ۚ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۚ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ

You see the mountains and think them as unmoving, but they move like the movement of clouds. The artistry of Allah, who perfected everything, for He is aware of what you do.

 

The above Ayat states that the mountains apparently look fixed, however their movement is similar to the movement of clouds.

 

The Earth as a sphere, comprises layers one over another. Mountains, and in general the Earth’s crust is part of the lithosphere. This lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is a relatively non-dense, solid and rigid piece of rock. The lithosphere lies on top of the asthenosphere, which is a more ductile layer composed of the upper mantle. In a sense, the lithosphere “floats” on the asthenosphere. You can think of ice cubes floating on water, or a better comparison would be solid cold chocolate floating on warm (but still solid) chocolate.

Inside the Earth

The Earth’s interior is composed of several layers. The deepest layer is a solid iron ball, about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) in diameter. Although this inner core is white hot, the pressure is so high the iron cannot melt.

Above the inner core is the outer core, a shell of liquid iron. This layer is cooler but still very hot, perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 degrees Celsius. It too is composed mostly of iron, plus substantial amounts of sulfur and nickel. It creates the Earth’s magnetic field and is about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) thick.

River of Rock

The next layer is the mantle. Many people think of this as lava, but it’s actually rock. The rock is so hot, however, that it flows under pressure, like road tar. This creates very slow-moving currents as hot rock rises from the depths and cooler rock descends.

The mantle is about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) thick and appears to be divided into two layers: the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The boundary between the two lies about 465 miles (750 kilometers) beneath the Earth’s surface.

The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is the familiar landscape on which we live: rocks, soil, and seabed. It ranges from about five miles (eight kilometers) thick beneath the oceans to an average of 25 miles (40 kilometers) thick beneath the continents.

Currents within the mantle have broken the crust into blocks, called plates, which slowly move around, colliding to build mountains or rifting apart to form new seafloor.

Continents are composed of relatively light blocks that float high on the mantle, like gigantic, slow-moving icebergs. Seafloor is made of a denser rock called basalt, which presses deeper into the mantle, producing basins that can fill with water.

(https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Education-and-Careers/Ask-a-Geologist/Continents-Supercontinents-and-the-Earths-Crust/Mountain-Roots)

 

Image result for Do mountains have roots

 

21:31  وَجَعَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِهِمْ وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا فِجَاجًا سُبُلًا لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ

And We have set on the earth firmaments, so that it should sway with them, and We have made therein broad highways so that they may receive guidance.

The above Ayat is usually translated with an extra negation added while it may be a possibility that the Ayat is referring to the tilt of the Earth. We know that Earth is tilted on its axis and this tilt gives the seasons on Earth.

Without the extra negation added, the above Ayat states that Allah has put firmaments or pegs so that the Earth should sway with them. Could be some thing for further research to find out if the mountains have a role in keeping the tilt of Earth on its axis, something similar to shim pieces.

 

Notes:

Some relevant information and their links are given below:

Mountain ranges are the result of continental collision. When two plates carrying continental crust converge, crustal rocks are folded and faulted. The result is deformed, thickened crust. This thicker crust rests on the underlying mantle, floating on the denser mantle rocks just as an iceberg floats in water. Mountains also resemble icebergs in that the part you see is much smaller than the part hidden beneath the Earth’s surface. The high topography of mountain ranges is mirrored by a much larger crustal root beneath. The height of mountains depends on the thickness of the crust, and the difference in density between the crust and the mantle. These relationships are part of the principle of isostasy, which governs how icebergs, mountains, and all other objects float.
Mountains, exert less gravitational pull than they should do because they have roots. Their less dense material extends down into the earth, in whose denser interior they float like icebergs in water.
A link with useful information is given below;

Earth’s tectonic plates are in constant motion. Their movement is driven by heat within the Earth. The deep Earth is very hot, while its surface is quite cool. This causes hot material within the Earth to rise, until it reaches the surface where it moves sideways, cools, then sinks. This circular motion is called convection. Convection within the mantle drives the motion of the overlying plates.

2 thoughts on “Movement of Mountains”

    • Could you please explain in some detail what’s your idea about it. I am not sure I quite get your point. What should be the explanation in your opinion,?

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