UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
Are the tectonic plates causing the SIERRA NEVADA mountain range to grow or shrink right now? I am curious!
Question Date: 2017-04-25
Answer 1:

Right now, the Sierra Nevada mountain range continues to be uplifted. So in a sense, the mountains are "growing" because the rocks that make them up are being thrust upwards. The uplift that created the mountain range as we know it actually began less than 5 million years ago, mostly along the eastern side.

Thanks,


Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use