The geology of the Appalachians ates back to more than 480 million years ago. A look at rocks exposed in today's Appalachian mountains reveals elongate belts of folded and thrust faulted marine sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and slivers of ancient ocean floor - strong evidence that these rocks were deformed during plate collision. The birth of the Appalachian ranges marks the first of several mountain building plate collisions that culminated in the construction of the supercontinent Pangaea with the Appalachians and neighboring Anti-Atlas (now in Morocco) near the center. These mountain ranges were once higher than today's Himalaya mountain range, which was also formed by continental collision.