Explanation:
This
stunning aerial view shows the rugged snow covered
peaks of
a Himalayan mountain range in Nepal.
The seventh-highest peak on the planet, Dhaulagiri,
is the high point
on the horizon at the left while
in the foreground lies the southern Tibetan Plateau of China.
But, contrary to appearances, this picture wasn't taken from
an airliner cruising at 30,000 feet.
Instead it was taken with a 35mm camera and telephoto lens by the
Expedition 1 crew aboard the
International Space Station --
orbiting 200 nautical
miles above the Earth.
The Himalayan mountains
were created by crustal plate tectonics
on planet Earth
some 70 million years ago, as the Indian plate began a
collision with the Eurasian plate.
Himalayan uplift still continues today at a rate of a
few millimeters per year.
