English to Italian Science Geology Formazione delle montagne

"Mountainous domes of hardened magma or upward-swelling sedimentary rock, the earth’s massive ranges and intercontinental rings slowly compressed by moving plates into fractured folds or cataclysmically transformed by avalanche or volcano: These suggest the thrust and shift of deep tectonic forces (Greek, tekton, “builder”) that orient us out of the void, the flowing lava that reshapes our landscapes. "

Non riesco proprio a capire cosa vuol dire "... slowly compressed by moving plates into fractured folds...". Mi potete aiiutare?