Colliding Continents

Gargantuan geological forces created the spectacular mountain ranges of the Himalaya and Karakoram. Mike Searle, one of the world's most experienced field geologists, tells the scientific story, illustrating it with his own photographs, and accounts of his mountaineering and research in the region.



The crash of the Indian plate into Asia is the biggest known collision in geological history, and it continues today. The result is the Himalaya and Karakoram - one of the largest mountain ranges on Earth. The Karakoram has half of the world's highest mountains and a reputation as being one of the most remote and savage ranges of all. In this beautifully illustrated book, Mike Searle, a geologist at the University of Oxford and one of the most experienced field geologists of our time, presents a rich account of the geological forces that were involved in creating these mountain ranges. Using his personal accounts of extreme mountaineering and research in the region, he pieces together the geological processes that formed such impressive peaks.