Lightning plays a big part in shaping mountains.  Researchers studying Lesotho’s Drakensberg mountain range discovered 90 lightning strikes per square half mile.  The above infographic explains how lightning shapes mountains.

Basically, lightning hits mountainsides, at 50,000F, vaporizing water in cracks in the mountain’s cracks.  The pressure from the vaporization of the water in the cracks creates an explosion that can remove up to 10 tons of rock.

Crazy, right?  Now, you can’t say you didn’t learn something cool today.

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Shocking News: Lightning Can Shape a Mountain!