September 1998

Ed Mathez journeys with a team of mold makers and Museum colleagues to the Alps near Zurich, Switzerland to make a cast of an outcrop. The Alps were formed by continental collision 40 million years ago. The mold of the Alps mountain fold will be displayed in the "What causes ocean basins, mountains, and continents?" section of the exhibition because it shows how rocks deform by folding during mountain building.

A view up the Glarus Valley in Eastern Switzerland, near the tiny town of Schwenden.

photo credit: Craig Chesek, © American Museum of Natural History