What process explains how some mountains were once underwater?

Study for the North Carolina Grade 8 End-of-Grade Science Test. Prepare with multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

What process explains how some mountains were once underwater?

Explanation:
When the Earth's crust moves, land can be pushed upward. This uplift happens at tectonic plate boundaries when plates collide or slide past each other, lifting rock that was once deep beneath the ocean to rise above sea level. Over long periods, weathering and erosion then carve those raised areas into mountain shapes. So, mountains that were once underwater are explained by uplift due to plate tectonics. Erosion wears rocks down, glaciation shapes landscapes with ice, and sedimentation builds up materials underwater, but none of those processes explain lifting submerged material to form mountains.

When the Earth's crust moves, land can be pushed upward. This uplift happens at tectonic plate boundaries when plates collide or slide past each other, lifting rock that was once deep beneath the ocean to rise above sea level. Over long periods, weathering and erosion then carve those raised areas into mountain shapes. So, mountains that were once underwater are explained by uplift due to plate tectonics. Erosion wears rocks down, glaciation shapes landscapes with ice, and sedimentation builds up materials underwater, but none of those processes explain lifting submerged material to form mountains.

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