River that raises the mountains

2008/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

The rivers cause erosion and erosion erodes the mountains. However, the erosion of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in the Tibetan mountains is provoking the opposite, according to an international group in the journal of the American Geological Society. They say that the massif of Namche Barwa-Gyala Peri is faster than the rest of the Himalayas.

The Yarlung Tsangpo River is the highest river in the world and one of the most violent in the world: It has a elevation of 3,000 meters -- double that of the Mississippi river --. This gives it a great erosive force. The removal of so many materials has made India's tectonic plate lighten faster than the rest, rising faster than the rest. This tectonic plate drives the ascent to the massif Namche Barwa-Gyala Peri. In fact, in the last two million years it has risen ten times more than the rest of mountains.