This simulation shows the Indian plate moving north as oceanic crust on its leading edge subducts beneath Eurasia. Subducted material erupts from volcanoes on the Eurasian plate. As the sea closes, the continents collide, because continental crust cannot be subducted. The Himalayas form from oceanic sediments and rocks crumpled in the collision. India is fused to the Eurasian plate—its northward motion continues today, pushing the Himalayas even higher.

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