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A/an ___ a far-traveled continent or island that collided with and is sutured to another continent/island:

a. mid-ocean ridge
b. trench
c. allochtonous terrane
d. destructive margin

1 Answer

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Final answer:

An allochthonous terrane is a far-traveled piece of continent or island that has collided with another landmass, and 'suture zone' is an appropriate term for areas like the Himalayan Mountains where such collisions occur.

Step-by-step explanation:

An allochthonous terrane is a far-traveled continent or island that collided with and is sutured to another continent/island. These terranes can include ophiolites, which are remnants of oceanic crust and upper mantle that have been emplaced onto continental crust.

Ophiolites can be seen as signatures of previous ocean basins that are no longer present because they were subducted and recycled into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries, creating suture zones where continents have collided.

Considering the Himalayan Mountains, the term 'suture zone' is indeed appropriate as it represents the location where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates have collided, resulting in the uplift of the Himalayas and the placement of oceanic crust remnants such as ophiolites along this zone.

This collision and suturing process is an excellent example of continent-continent convergence, which includes subduction of the intervening oceanic crust prior to the collision of the continental masses.

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