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Published online 15 March 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news070312-4
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Why are the Andes so tall?
Plate-tectonics study could explain why some mountains are higher than expected.
A three-dimensional model of our planet's plate tectonics could help to explain why the Andes mountain range is taller than geologists would predict: it could all be down to the long length of the South American continent.
The highest mountain range on our planet — the Himalayas — was formed by the massive collision of two continental plates.
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