Marine Fossils on the Roof of the World: Why Seashells Are Found on Mount Everest

marine fossil himalaya
A marine fossil found in the Himalayas. Photo: tian yake

Towering over the Himalayas, Mount Everest, with its icy crown located at an altitude of 29,031 feet (8,848 m), might seem like the last place you’d expect to find marine fossils. Yet, climbers have stumbled upon these petrified remains of ancient sea creatures, provoking questions and further exploration.

Some of the first fossils found on the world’s highest mountain came from George Mallory and Andrew Irvine’s ill-fated 1924 climbing expedition. Despite Mallory and Irvine’s tragic end, geologist Noel Ewart Odell, the last to see them alive, collected numerous fossil samples including limestone, which typically forms in warm waters from organic debris like shells and coral. Edmund Hillary also collected limestone near Everest’s summit during his historic 1953 ascent with Tenzing Norgay.

mount everest aerial view 2
The top of the world: Mount Everest and the surrounding mountains. How did those marine fossils end up there? Photo: Papa Lima Whiskey 2

But how did these marine fossils end up so high and dry? Contrary to claims recently surfacing in social media, the answer doesn’t lie in an ancient global flood – similar claims have been debunked previously. Instead, it has to do with the fascinating story of plate tectonics, the movement of Earth’s giant crustal plates.

Millions of years ago, where Mount Everest stands today, there was a vast ocean called the Tethys Sea. This vibrant underwater world teemed with life, leaving behind a rich fossil record on the ocean floor. Over vast stretches of time, the Indian subcontinent, once part of the supercontinent Gondwana, began drifting northwards on the Indian Plate and collided with the Eurasian Plate about 40 to 50 million years ago. This slow-motion collision with Asia squeezed the Tethys Sea floor, crumpling it upwards. The immense force literally pushed the seabed skyward, forming the mighty Himalayan mountain range, including Mount Everest.

tethys sea

The continents Laurasia and Gondwana with the Tethys Sea 200 million years ago. Image: Lennart Kudling

The fossils found on Everest are remnants of that ancient seabed. That’s why the Spiti Valley, for example, has fossil evidence dating back 540 million years, drawing palaeontologists globally. In Nepal, ammonites, marine cephalopods with shells, are discovered along the Kali Gandaki Riverbed. Climbers returning from Mount Everest have brought back rocks containing sea lily fossils. And samples obtained from high altitudes on the mountain have yielded remnants of prehistoric conodonts, believed to be remotely linked to modern hagfish, as well as fragments of coral.

spiti river kaza himachal
Spiti Valley, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, is abundant with marine fossils indicating that the Himalayas were once seabed. Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves

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    Finding these fossils isn’t just a geological curiosity; it’s a cornerstone of our understanding of Earth’s dynamic history. They serve as a geological record, telling the story of a time when Everest wasn’t a mountain peak, but a part of the ocean floor. And the presence of marine fossils on the top of the world provides crucial evidence for the theory of plate tectonics, a pillar of modern geology.

    Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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    Written by Tamás Varga
    Photo of author
    A sociologist and English major by degree, I've worked in the area of civil society & human rights and have been blogging in the fields of travel, nature & science for over 20 years.

    1 thought on “Marine Fossils on the Roof of the World: Why Seashells Are Found on Mount Everest”

    1. Ridiculous. You claim it is more likely that the entire world shifted from deep sea to mountain as opposed to the occams razer explanation which is simply that there was a flood. Ridiculous

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