Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, is growing!

Millions of years ago, India was an island. Due to the motion of continental plates, India drifted North and crashed (very slowly!) into Asia about forty million years ago. Its northward motion created the Himalayan mountain range, and continues today. As a result of this motion, Mount Everest is growing by an average of about four centimeters (or one and a half inches) per year!

Learn more about the motion of tectonic plates

More factoids about Mt. Everest