Orogeny

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a mountain before? They are really big and tall! Well, sometimes these mountains were not always there, they were made a long time ago when the earth was still changing.

The process of making mountains is called orogeny. It happens when two big pieces of the earth's crust (the outer part of the earth) come together and push against each other. Imagine pushing two playdough balls against each other, they will start to push up and form a mountain-like shape.

But it's not just that simple, when these two pieces of crust come together, they start to fold and buckle, just like when you fold a piece of paper. These folds and buckles can create ridges and valleys that we can see on the surface of the earth.

Sometimes when the two pieces of crust push against each other, one piece of crust slips under the other, just like when you slide your hand under your leg. This is called subduction, and it can cause big earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

So there you have it, orogeny is the process of making mountains when two pieces of the earth's crust come together and push against each other, creating folds, ridges, and valleys.