Download How did Alfred find fossilised sea animals high up in the Alps

How did Alfred find fossilised sea creatures high up in the Alps?
There were long periods of quiet
between earth movements during
which sedimentary rocks, thousands
of metres thick, formed huge
depressions called geosynclines.
In some places, the folds were pushed
over on one side to give overfolds,
while in some of the highest fold
mountains, such as the Alps, the rocks
have been severely folded and faulted
into nappes.
Sometimes the folds were simple
upfolds (anticlines) and down folds
(synclines).
Geosynclines are huge depressions
which often contain seas.
Over millions of years the sediments
were compressed into sedimentary
rocks such as sandstone and
limestone.
Rivers carried sediment and
deposited them into depressions
known as geosynclines.
The sedimentary rocks were forced
upwards into a series of folds by the
movement of tectonic plates.
Recent mountain building movements
have created the Alps, Himalayas,
Rockies and Andes., some of which are
still rising. They are called “young
fold mountains”.
Tectonic plates are sections of the
earth’s crust.
Alfred is a keen geologist.
Tectonic plates float on the mantle –
molten rock beneath the earth’s
surface
Alfred is also a keen climber and is
preparing to climb Mt Blanc. He
enjoys the amazing scenery created
by overfolds and nappes.
The mantle is continually moving due
to convection currents.
The Alps reach great heights – the
highest peak is Mt Blanc in France at
4810 m
Fold mountains occur where two
tectonic plates are moving towards
each other.
A compressional margin occurs when
two tectonic plates are moving
towards each other.
The Alps are known as “young fold
mountains”
The Alps lie at a compressional
margin.
Fold mountains have been formed at
times in the earth’s geological history
called mountain-building periods.
Early geologists suggested that the
fossils of sea creatures were
deposited on mountains by Noah’s
flood.
When sea animals die, their remains
may fall to the bottom of the sea and
they become covered in sediment.
When limestone is exposed to wind,
rain and chemical weathering, fossils
may become exposed.