How do fossils of fish reach the tops of mountains? The explanation of this and other natural phenomena is found in this lively introduction to the geology of mountains. Mountains can be created by the collision of tectonic plates, those massive slabs of rock so big they can carry continents and oceans on their backs. They can also be created by volcanic magma that spews from the Earth. The story of mountains is one of Planet Earth's great dramas. And it all began a billion years ago, whenall the land on the earth was clustered into one continent that scientists call Rodinia.