Editing Plate tectonics (section)

==== Formation and break-up of continents ====
The movement of plates has caused the formation and break-up of continents over time, including occasional formation of a [[supercontinent]] that contains most or all of the continents. The supercontinent [[Columbia (supercontinent)|Columbia]] or Nuna formed during a period of {{Ma|2000|1800}} and broke up about {{Ma|1500|1300}}.{{sfn|Zhao|Cawood|Wilde|Sun|2002}}{{sfn|Zhao|Sun|Wilde|Li|2004}} The supercontinent [[Rodinia]] is thought to have formed about 1{{nbsp}}billion years ago and to have embodied most or all of Earth's continents, and broken up into eight continents around {{Ma|600}}. The eight continents later re-assembled into another supercontinent called [[Pangaea]]; Pangaea broke up into [[Laurasia]] (which became North America and Eurasia) and [[Gondwana]] (which became the remaining continents).

The [[Himalayas]], the world's tallest mountain range, are assumed to have been formed by the collision of two major plates. Before uplift, the area where they stand was covered by the [[Tethys Ocean]].