After my New Zealand trip, I found myself traveling to Nepal, to see the greatest mountain range in the world: the Himalayas. After a stomach-lurching helicopter ride to land in Lukla Airport, I found myself trekking to the village of the Sherpas at the base of the Himalayas. It was freezing! I had to wear layers and layers of snow gear, and still it was cold!
After staying at the Sherpa village, I got to hike around the base of some of the mountains with a Sherpa guide. The air was extremely thin, and it was difficult to breathe. Still, the mountains were awe-inspiring.
But how did the tallest mountains in the world form? These great peaks were created when the Indo-Australian plate (carrying India) crashed into the Eurasian Plate (where China was). This is called a collision boundary, and after the two plates meet, the continents meld together. As the India moves into China, the Himalayas grow higher, and many earthquakes happen as these plates push together.
However, collision boundaries do not form volcanoes, so the Himalayas do not have any volcanic activity.
Even though I didn’t get to ascend the tallest mountain in the world, Everest, I could still see its peak from a distance. Even from far away, Everest was still breathtaking.
And that concludes my trip to Nepal. Next stop: South America!
-Carly
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